The City meets the Sea
by I am ECSTASY
Summary: Charlie and Ruby; best friends and sisters. After a sudden family incident, Charlie decides to move her sister from the busy city streets to the small seaside town of Summer Bay. But is there more trouble in this town than anticipated? Ft Braxton Brothers
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Summer Bay

**_ Charlie and Ruby; best friends and sisters. After a sudden family incident, Charlie decides to move her sister from the busy city streets to the small seaside town of Summer Bay. But is there more trouble in this town than anticipated? Ft The Braxton Brothers. _**

**So this fiction has been in the planning for a few months now. Its my second Home and Away fan fiction, but I've been writing fan fiction for around 4 years, coming up to five. This fiction is comprised of different storylines and themes from over the years Charlie and Ruby have been in home and away. Just thought I'd explain, at the moment in the show John and Gina live at 31 Saxon Ave, but for the sake of this story I've changed stuff around (just so you are all clear and can picture the house while you read this). Sorry the first chapter is short, I've decided with this fic I'm just going to write what I feel rather than keeping to a word limit. I feel I get better chapters when I do that. Annd *spoiler* this was written before Dex and April broke up.**

**Enjoy and please read and review. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this =) xo**

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><p><em><strong>The City Meets the Sea.<strong>_

**Chapter 1**

Ruby's Point of View

'Welcome to Summer Bay' I read the sign on the side of the road. The sign looked old and someone had graffiti-ed it to say 'Welcome to River Boy Bay'. "So this is why we're here is it?" I asked my sister Charlie as we drove past.

"Yep…apparently the local police have been having a lot of trouble with a couple of surf gangs around here."

"Charlie stop kidding yourself…we moved here because you couldn't face going to work and everyone saying how Dad was such a great cop and how proud he was of you!" I snapped at her. After Dad's funeral Charlie had decided to pack us both up and leave the city.

"Ruby!" She looked at me with her ice blue eyes. "I'm sorry that we moved, but the city was never for me anyway" She sighed back, covering up the real reason we were here. Charlie hated the beach. She had since I could ever remember. She hated the sand and the water, she hated everything about it, but as soon as dad died from a sudden heart attack, she decided that's where we should move our lives. I looked out into the ocean as we drove past the beach, it was so beautiful, but who could know that in a matter of minutes you could be dragged out into the dangerous sea.

Running up from the beach were a group of tattooed men that wolf whistled at the car, specifically Charlie. One of them stared at me. He wasn't like the rest. He didn't have tattoos or a built body like the rest. He just stared at me as we drove past. "I can see what Officer Watson said about rowdy" Charlie said, breaking me away from the hazel eyed boy's stare.

"They were the River Boys?" I asked shocked.

"Yep. A bunch of no hoper surfers who have nothing better to do than to terrorise this small town" Charlie stated, turning down a street. "Can you read me the address again?" Charlie was looking around trying to find a street sign.

"31 Saxon Avenue, Summer Bay" I read off the piece of paper with all the details about the house we were moving into. Charlie had found two sisters needing some roommates for their house. I hadn't met them before, but Charlie said they seemed nice and the house was homely and close to the beach and the local diner.

"Ah its this one" Charlie drove into a driveway occupied by another car. A blonde woman ran out of the house only to greet Charlie with a hug as soon as she got out of the car.

"Charlie, it's so nice to see you again!" She squealed.

"Ruby this is Bianca…she's the French teacher at the local school" Charlie smiled at me.

"Enchanté Ruby! Its going to be nice having you two living with us! My younger sister April is currently over at her boyfriend Dex's house, but she should be home later tonight. Let's get you two settled in" Bianca smiled, taking my hand and leading me inside. She showed Charlie and I to our rooms and helped us get the luggage out of the car and into our rooms. "So you looking forward to seeing the beach? The city must have been quite a different life style to what you have to look forward to here…and with the town being so small" Bianca smiled at me.

"Yeah I suppose." I tried to smile back. Truth was, I missed my Dad and I missed my old house and most of all, I missed my old friends! I just wanted to go home and this wasn't home!


	2. Chapter 2: River Boy encounter

**So here's a new chapter to hopefully cheer everyone up after watching tonights season opening of Home and Away. What did everyone think of the new episode? Any theories? **

**Anywho's hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for all the reviews and favourites. Please keeping reading and reviewing =)**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 2<span>**

Charlie's Point of View

After Bianca had helped us unpack a bit, she took me on a walk into town to show us the sights. The beach looked amazing, although I hated the feeling of sand in between my toes and the feeling of salty water in my hair, it was still beautiful. Two men ran out of the surf with their boards. I knew immediately from their 'Blood and Sand' tattoos that they could only be River Boys. One wolf whistled at Bianca before Bianca took my hand trying to lead me away. "Ay, not too fast" He ran up to Bianca.

"Heath, leave me alone" Bianca pushed away the brown eyed, well-built man.

"Oi, Heath, Don't be an idiot" The other one told him. "I'm Darryl Braxton…but you can call me Brax" He stuck out his hand for me to shake. His smile was breath taking, along with his blue eyes and light brown, coloured hair. I took his hand and shook it gently, trying not to let on that there was a huge spark between us.

"Charlie, Charlie Buckton" I replied.

"So are you new to town? I'd remember if I'd seen your face around here before ay" He gave me a small smirk.

"Yeah, just moved in" I replied with a small smile.

"Ignore my brother…he's just causing trouble" Brax wacked Heath over the head while he was messing around with Bianca.

"Is that a usual for you two?" I tried not to judge them, but it was a bit hard seeing as I was here to keep them under control.

"For Heath yeah, but me, I'm just a man, trying to keep his business on its feet" Brax explained.

"Well we should go" I looked at Bianca who was not impressed by the attention she was getting from Heath.

"I'll see you around?" Brax yelled out as we walked off.

"Oh you'll definitely be seeing me soon" I smirked.

"Well you definitely made a good impression on the oldest Braxton…just wait until he finds out you're a cop!" Bianca laughed as we walked up the beach.

"Excuse me but what about you and Heath?" I asked her back.

"Heath is an idiot! He's been trying to go after me since I broke up with my ex, Liam" Bianca sighed as we walked up to the local diner.

"Well if he hassles you anymore just let me know" I warned her, walking through to a table.

"Oh Bianca, have you heard, there's a new police sergeant moving to town. Hopefully he can tame the troublesome River Boys and get them out of our dear old town" A short, older woman said to Bianca as soon as we sat down.

"Colleen, this is Sergeant Charlie Buckton, she's just moved in with me" Bianca smiled smugly and introduced me to what seemed like the town gossip.

"Oh, a woman…well it's nice to meet you. I'm Colleen Smart…I can tell you many a troublesome story of what those River Boys have done. They've been hanging round the caravan park a lot lately…wouldn't surprise me if I wake up tomorrow morning to find my caravan missing!" Colleen continued gasbagging.

"Well Mrs Smart, its nice to meet you. I'll try my best to get this situation under control" I smiled.

"Have you settled in alright so far?" Colleen tried to talk to us some more.

"Colleen, why don't you get us some menus…Charlie a bit hungry, aren't you Charlie?" Bianca suggested. Colleen gave us both a disapproving look.

"Alright then, no need to be so rude" She walked off in a huff before coming back with menus and another conversation.

"Colleen, get back to work!" A taller lady with red hair yelled from the counter. "Sorry bout her darl, she can't stop gossiping to save herself" The woman laughed, walking over to her. "I'm Irene…its nice to see a new face round here" She smiled.

"I'm Charlie…I've just moved in with Bianca" I replied back.

"It'll be nice to have another woman round the house" Irene patted Bianca's shoulder. "So what can I get you two?" She continued.

After our lunch, Bianca and I continued on our walk. I got shown the surf club along with the Italian restaurant above it. "This is Angelo's…the food is amazing, the owners not so much" Bianca mumbled the last bit as we walked in and seen Brax and Heath standing at the counter.

"Long time no see" Brax smiled at me.

"Yeah…just checking out the local sights" I gave a small smile back.

"So what's a beautiful city girl like you moving into a small town like this?" He asked.

"Job opportunity" I twisted the truth a bit.

"Ah…I see. Well can I get you lovely ladies a drink or something?" He asked, trying to be polite.

"No thanks, we have to get going" Bianca butted in before walking out. Heath's eyes hot on her trail.

"Wait…Bi, can we talk tonight?" Heath followed us.

"Heath, no. We've talked about this" Bianca looked around and mumbled to him.

"Just 5 minutes" Heath smiled at her, taking her hands in his. She shook her head before looking at him.

"Fine…meet me at 7" Bianca sighed.

"Great" Heath kissed her cheek.

"That seems like more than nothing" I looked at Bianca knowingly as we started to head home.

"We slept together…once, and now Heath wants more" She sighed again.

"Just tell him no, if you don't want to!" I told her sternly.

"But I kind of don't want to…I just don't know what to do. Why is he so attractive?" Bianca replied as we walked into the house only to find Ruby lying on the couch.

"The River Boys are trouble Bianca…just be careful" I warned her.


	3. Chapter 3: City Girl and a River Boy?

**Thank you all so much for the reviews and favourites. They mean a lot to me and I'm glad you are all liking this. So I'm going away for a week on saturday and I'll have no internet connection, but hopefully where I'm staying at the beach will give me some inspiration for this fic so I can finish the last few chapters down there (Its pretty much all written in advance so I just have to upload a chapter at a time)**

**An anyways, keep read and reviewing. I really want to hear your thoughts because I feel like I've tried something different with the Charlie/Ruby as the major storyline, so please tell me if its paying off so far?**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Ruby's Point of View

Bianca and Charlie had gotten home and looked like they were going to become the best of friends. "Charlie, I'm going to get something to eat" I yelled out to the kitchen.

"Ok, have you taken you insulin?" She ran out and asked. I had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 14 and now depended on insulin shots 3 times a day.

"Yep…I'll be back soon" I walked out the door and went for a walk down to the pier. The water was so calm and the boats so peaceful as they sat in the mooring.

"Hey…you're new to town. I seen you drive in this morning" a voice broke me away from the view. It was the hazel eyed boy from the beach I'd seen this morning.

"Yeah…just moved here." I replied, sitting down on the edge of the pier. He sat down next to me.

"I guess I'm kind of new too…I just got expelled from Mangrove River High, where I live and I'm starting at Summer Bay high tomorrow" He explained.

"Why'd you get expelled?" I asked curiously.

"Fighting at school…nothing new" He commented, looking out into the bay.

"Wow…bad boy ay?" I smiled a bit. He just looked at me before shaking his head.

"Not really" He mumbled. "I'm Casey by the way"

"Ruby…Ruby Buckton" I replied looking into his sad eyes.

"So I was thinking, seeing as we are both new and both starting at Summer Bay High tomorrow…you want to hang out so we don't both look like losers" He chuckled.

"Um…look you seem like a really nice guy and all but I probably shouldn't. You're a river boy aren't you?" I asked, regretting it as soon as I said it.

"You're just like everyone else in this town…judging me on who my family is. And here I was thinking, the new city girl would be different" He shook his head before storming off.

"Casey…wait!" I yelled after him but he was gone before I could blink. My first day in this stupid town and I'd already pissed someone off! I dragged myself back to the house only to find a brunette couple on the sofa kissing. "Um yeah Hi…don't mind me" I grinned sarcastically, walking past them.

"Oh Hi…you must be Ruby. I'm April and this is my boyfriend Dexter" The girl smiled at me.

"So how'd you find this small town compared to the city? I'm a city boy myself" Dexter rolled his eyes then grinned.

"Pretty shitty to be honest…I miss the shopping centre a 5 minute walk away and the public transport" I sighed.

"Amen to that sister!" He tried to high-five me, only to receive a weird stare from both April and I. "Well you'll get to love Summer Bay…and the people in it" He backed away before placing an arm around April. "Well I should get going. Mr Copeland has me writing an extension essay on the effects that the Internet and media have on modern day literature in our society…fun" He smiled sarcastically.

"No, please stay, Bianca is bringing home Pizza, and then we can watch movies or something" April pleaded with him.

"As tempting as that sounds, I really have to finish this essay. I'm sorry…but remember, I love you" He kissed her forehead before leaving.

"So where's Charlie gone?" I asked April after realising my sister was not home.

"Oh, she went into Yabbie Creek to check out the police station and stuff" April answered flicking through the tv channels. It had started to get late when Bianca and Charlie both arrived home.

"I got one meat lovers and one supreme cause I didn't know which one you would prefer" Bianca said to me placing the pizzas on the dinner table.

"I eat both" I answered, grabbing a plate.

"Say thanks to Bianca" Charlie stepped in with her mother like tone.

"Thanks Bianca" I looked at Charlie before being polite.

"No problem. Anyway, I'm going to get changed and head down to the beach…I'm meeting someone there" Bianca said as she walked into the hallway.

"You mean, you're having a date with Heath" April called out to her with a sly smile.

"IT'S NOT A DATE!" Bianca yelled out from her room. April chuckled to herself before biting into a slice of pizza.

"Bianca's sleeping with a River boy…I never thought she'd fall for a bad boy" She shrugged her shoulders. Charlie walked into the hallway.

"So what's with these River boys anyway?" I asked, knowing little about them, yet knowing to steer clear of them

"Well, they've created a stir around town since they have started surfing at the beach and since the leader of the River Boys bought out Angelo's pizza bar in town…They have started a few fights and the town is a little bit more on edge than usual, but apart from that I don't have a problem with them" April explained.

"Why do they have such a big reputation then?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know…I suppose its because the leader Darryl Braxton and his younger brother Heath are just bad news. Their Dad is in gaol for some drug bust and Heath has been charged a few times with assault and drug possession and done a bit of time in juvi as a teenager…well that's what I heard from Colleen anyway" April rolled her eyes.

"What about Casey Braxton? Know anything about him?" I asked innocently.

"I heard a rumour that he got expelled from Mangrove high for fighting with a guy, but who knows. The amount of gossip and rumours that go round this town are is ridiculous. Casey is probably just as innocent as any of us and is just trying to steer out of his brother's shadows" April shrugged.


	4. Chapter 4: 5 minutes

**So sorry for not adding in such a long time! Life kind of got in the way! Thanks for reading and reviewing, keep it up =)**  
><strong>Enjoy xo<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Bianca's point of view

Charlie walked into my room as I was fixing up my hair and make up. "I thought you said this meeting with Heath Braxton was just to talk and it was for 5 minutes" She raised her eyebrows.

"He can do a lot in 5 minutes, I tell you that" I winked at her.

"Bianca!" Charlie gasped before slapping my arm playfully. "The Braxton's are bad news Bianca!" She continued.

"That may be true, but Heath is so different from Liam and at the moment I need a distraction" I sighed.

"Bianca…if you don't mind me asking…what happened between you and Liam?" she asked cautiously.

"Liam a couple of years ago fell into drugs, but then recovered before we'd even met and then apparently the stress of our relationship made him relapse and he decided to leave town and get help. I mean, I've accepted that we needed time apart cause of his problem, but it still hurts. That's why I need a bit of fun" I explained ending in a smile.

"I see…well just try not to have too much fun tonight and call me if anything goes wrong" Charlie hugged me before leaving the room.

To be honest, I didn't know what to expect from Heath tonight. I just wanted to get Liam off my mind at the moment. Maybe Charlie was right, maybe I did need to be careful around this bad boy.

I headed down to the beach only to find Heath waiting for me at the surf club. "Hey…you look great. Wanna head up to Angelo's for some food?" He wrapped an arm around my waist, making me fall into his deep brown eyes.

"Um…Heath, actually. I want to be honest with you" I broke away from his stare and pulled his arm off me. "I don't think we should do this anymore" I told him gently.

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"I mean, I don't think we should sleep together anymore, I don't think we should we should go out anymore…it was just a bit of fun and now its time to move on" I told him. He gripped my wrist.

"So basically you used me…I was just a distraction until you got over Liam?" Heath looked angry as he pushed his face closer to mine.

"Heath…you're hurting me" I tried to pull my arm away, but he was too strong.

"Well you mess with the fire, you're gonna get burned!" He ripped away and stormed off.

"Oi Heath!" a voice yelled out behind me. I turned to see Brax yelling after his brother. "You alright?" He asked walking towards me and looking at my wrist.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I shook the fear from my face.

"I'll have a word to him…he shouldn't have touched you" Brax said sternly. "Do you want me to drive you home?"

"No…thanks anyway" I gave him a small smile before walking off. Tonight was a huge wake up call, my life was a mess and things needed to change.


	5. Chapter 5: A hard days work

**New chapter...YAY! Thanks so much for all the reviews and favourites. Glad you are all liking this. Please continue to read and review...it makes me happy =D**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Charlie's Point of View

Waking up in a new house, in a new room, was weird, but once I got out of the house and went for an early morning jog I knew the move was worth it. The sunrise looked beautiful from the beach. I stood there admiring the colours change from grey and blue to beautiful reds and oranges. The clouds scattered the sky and the surfers started arriving. "I bet you could get used to waking up to that amazing sunset ay?" a voice scared me. I turned to find Darryl Braxton standing behind me with a small smirk. He had a large box of tomatoes in his arms, outside the surf club.

"You're not surfing today?" I asked inquisitively.

"Nah, I had to go to the farmers markets and pick a few things. We've got a singles night on tonight, if you and Bianca are interested." He nodded.

"I don't think so, but thanks for the invite" I replied seriously, before jogging on my way.

"Just think about it ay," He yelled after me. I got home and hopped in the shower before getting dressed for work and waking up Ruby for her to get ready for her first day at school.

"Charlie, can't I just stay home today?" She protested as we headed into the kitchen.

"Ruby, you'll be fine. Everyone is pretty laid back here" Bianca commented, eating her breakfast at the table with April.

"I just don't know how I'm going to adapt going from an all girls boarding school in the city to a multi-gender school here in Summer Bay" She groaned as she sat down next to Bianca.

"Rubes…you'll be fine. You'll have April and I to help you out" Bianca smiled before handed her a piece of toast and hugging her gently.

"Now, I have to go to work. Good luck at school and remember, I love you" I hugged my little sister before kissing her forehead.

"Love you too" She replied softly.

"Good luck Charlie! Go arrest some River Boys" Bianca chanted as I walked out the door laughing.

Soon enough I had arrived at the Yabbie Creek Police Station that I had acquainted myself with yesterday. "Morning Sergeant Buckton" my colleague Constable Georgia Watson greeted me. It was nice having a fellow female officer here. Back in the city there weren't many of us. "So what the plan for today Serge?" Constable Watson asked, eager to get to work.

"Well I just want to see how you guys run this joint, how you handle things around here and see if there is anything to change. I got called into Yabbie Creek to help and fix the River Boy problem before it gets out of hand, but first I want to establish the ring leader and how their whole operation works before we go getting ourselves involved" I spoke to not only her but a few of the other constables around the front desk.

"Well we all know who the ring leader is…the one and only Darryl Braxton" She handed me his file to read. Flicking through it I seen no sign of changes, just a speeding fine and few arrests but due to lack of evidence, their was no changes made in the past. His brother on the other hand had been arrested and changed multiple times with drug possession and dealing and only just come out of gaol for which he spent 6 months in there.

"So do we know what their operation is and why they are here?" I asked trying to get all the facts.

"Well they are here for the surf…way better than the surf at Wilson's Beach. We believe that Darryl Braxton is not only importing drugs in Indonesian furniture but also growing his own. He doesn't do any of the dirty work himself, but leaves that up to the rest of his stupid gang and launders the money through his business" A male officer explained to me.

"So where is the evidence that connects Darryl Braxton to all this?" I asked, still reading through the files.

"That's the problem…we don't have any" Watson sighed.

"I see, so how do we know Heath Braxton isn't behind all this?" I asked curiously.

"Heath Braxton isn't smart enough to run an operation like this…Darryl is careful, Heath is clumsy. Brax is the one always cleaning up after Heath's mess, always bailing him out" Watson continued.

"Hmm well I think we should keep an eye on both. So as for the rest of the day I will just be observing what you do, how you handle situations, interviews, procedures to see if any thing needs to be changed around here. But I'm sure everything will go smoothly. What trouble can this little town throw at us?" I laughed trying to lighten the tense mood in the station. But everything didn't go smoothly; it went as bumpy as hell. At 10 o'clock called us out to a break in Reefton Lakes, by 12 we had been called out to a fight in Yabbie Creek, 12.30, a snatch and grab at a jewellery store right next door to where the fight was and at 3.30 a domestic between neighbours in Mangrove River.

"All I did was tell her to get her fucking car off my grass!" A middle aged lady yelled at me as she smoked a cigarette.

"My car wasn't on her grass!" the other woman yelled back.

"Look both of you need to calm down or I will escort you both down the station…now if I could get your names please" Watson got out her notepad.

"Maree Hudson" The cigarette smoking lady rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Cheryl Braxton" The other blonde lady rolled her eyes also. "I don't know why you pigs got involved….I didn't do anything wrong so you might as well leave. Just wait til my boys hear about this" She muttered. Braxton…familiar name.

"Mrs Braxton, your sons don't need to be involved. This is a matter that can be sorted out by a bit of communication…you ladies think you can do that?" Watson asked with raised eyebrows.

"I suppose so" Mrs Braxton replied before taking out her car keys and going to move her car.

"Now we'll be on our way…have a nice day" I smiled at both the women before heading towards the car to leave.

"Braxton…that was Heath and Darryl's mother right?" I asked curiously.

"Yeep…always getting calls out this way. At least twice a week we get a complaint in this neighbourhood…you can kind of see why the River boys are the way they are" She shrugged as we head back to the station. Kind of made me grateful I grew up in the city.


	6. Chapter 6: Time table troubles

**Sorry its a short chapter but I promise you will all looooooove the next one =D**  
><strong>Thanks for all the reviews and favourite glad you are all liking this. <strong>

**P.S If you read my other h&a fan fic '9 months' the last chapter is coming soon, I'm just trying to write the sequel so I can get it up straight away after I post the last chapter =)**

**Thanks again guys. Keep reading and reviewing please XD**  
><strong>enjoy xo<strong>

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 6<span>**

Ruby's Point of View

Watching as Charlie left for work I slumped into the lounge chair and groaned. I felt physically sick at the thought of a new school, new teachers, new friends. I mean I had April but it wasn't like we'd bonded and become super close yet. "Come on Rubes, go put your uniform on…we're leaving in half an hour" Bianca hurried me up. I went into my room and put on my uniform before doing my hair and putting on a bit of mascara. I looked at myself in the full length mirror before decided that this uniform was way better than the one at the private girls school I had previously attended. Grabbing my backpack, I headed out to the living room only to find Bianca and April smiling at me. "Let me take a photo to send to Charlie!" Bianca grabbed her phone and took a photo as I covered my face.

"No…I don't like photos" I chuckled, taking my hands down realising it was over.

"Ok have you both got everything?" Bianca grabbed her car keys and a travel mug full of coffee. "Off we go…everyone in the car!" She pushed us both out the door and we all hopped in the car. We soon arrived at the newly renovated Summer Bay High. The buildings had a grey and purple colour scheme to them and the whole place looked very modern.

"I'll take you to the office to sort out all your details" Bianca smiled as we walked through the corridors. We soon arrived at the front office so I could fill in some paper work and collect my time table.

"Now Casey…please behave. I want you to make something of yourself ok mate. Now get to work ay" I heard a males voice behind me as I turned around to find Casey Braxton standing there with a sulky look on his face. I assumed the older, built man was his brother. The office lady handed me my time table before giving me a chance to look at it.

"Well I leave you too it. I've got to get to roll call. I'm sure April will show you around" Bianca smiled before leaving me. I noticed Casey looking at me.

"Casey…I'm really sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean what I said…it was horrible and I really am sorry" I tried my best to apologise for judging the guy before I had even got to know him.

"What ever" He looked sulky.

"Ah Ruby, Casey…nice to see you two have met. Starting Summer Bay High both on the same day. Lucky you two are in all the same classes!" A blonde haired woman, who I'd met before walked out of an office.

"Mrs Palmer… I'm really looking forward to my first day" I put on the fake charm and smiled.

"Don't hesitate to ask any questions around here. I'm sure we're all happy to assist both of you…now there goes the bell, best get to roll call!" She gave us a small smile before walking off. As soon as she was gone so was Casey.

"Casey…wait up!" I ran after him.

"Will you just leave me alone?" He spat at me as we got to the room of our rollcall class.

"I'm sorry…look I don't have any friends here and I would appreciate the offer from yesterday if its still open" I replied, walking into the classroom, noticing April waving at me.

"No friends…then why is he waving at you?" He nodded at April then walked to the back of the room.

"Wow the new guy is hot!" April commented as I sat down next to her.

"Oi!" Dex nudged her.

"Too bad he's a river boy…and I have a boyfriend" April smiled back at him. "What's up with you Ruby?" She asked.

"I've just managed to make a huge mess of things and I've only been here for 5 minutes" I sighed back, leaning my head against the table. I could tell this day was only going to get worse!


	7. Chapter 7: Arrested development

**So I'm pretty sure all you Chax lovers are going to like this chapter heheheehehehe! Thanks for all the reviews and favourites! Keep them coming and let me know what you think of this chapter!**  
><strong>P.S I have just finished my fic <span>'9 months'<span> and started the sequel for it called 'Life as we know it' so feel free to check them both out =)**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

Charlie's Point of View

I got home from my long shift at work only to find Ruby in her room with her head in a book. "Hey, how was your first day of school?" I asked, sitting down on her bed. She looked up at me with sad eyes.

"The worse day ever" She grumbled.

"Aw, sweetie, what happened?" I asked hugging her.

"Well you know how you told me the River boys were bad news? Well Casey…the youngest Braxton, asked to be friends with me yesterday but because I remember what you said I blatantly judged him and brushed him off and now he's in every single one of my classes and he's really annoyed at me because I judged him" She revealed.

"All the Braxton's are bad news Ruby…you did the right thing!" I supported her.

"Did I Charlie? Dad always said don't judge a book by their cover…but that's exactly what I did…actually it was even worse because I judged him on the reputation of his brothers!" She continued.

"Ruby, honestly its for the best. What about April and Dex? They're your friends right?" I asked her.

"Yeah but I've only got April and Dex in Maths and English and then another friend of theirs, Xavier in geography, but Casey is in all my classes. I tried to apologise but he just won't listen" She flopped back on the bed.

"I'm sure it'll get better Rubes" I stood up and kissed her forehead before leaving her to herself to study.

"So what are we having for dinner?" I asked Bianca as I walked into the main living room.

"Well there are left overs in the fridge for the girls and I was thinking you and I could go down to Angelo's for the singles night and have dinner there" She smiled.

"No I already said I wasn't going" I declined straight away.

"I hadn't told you about it yet?" Bianca looked confused.

"Darryl Braxton invited me this morning" I mumbled.

"He what?" Bianca's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"I'm not going Bianca and that's final!"

"But you have to go…Brax invited you…he totally wants you Charlie!" She started jumping around the living room laughing.

"The only reason I'm here is because of him and his little river boys…you really think it would be a smart move to hook up with the leader?" I asked her seriously.

"Well yeah it would…he's hot, you could get close to him, find out information…and HE'S HOT!" She continued.

"No Bianca…I'm a cop he's a River boy and there is no attraction what so ever!" I stated as Bianca kept smiling at me.

_3 hours later_

"I can't believe you talked me into this" I grumbled at Bianca as we walked through the door of Angelo's.

"It's give you the chance to meet some locals…see look there is Leah, Marilyn and Roo from the dinner…lets go say hi" Bianca dragged me over to them.

"Leah, Marilyn, Roo…this is Charlie…she's the new Sergeant at Yabbie Creek police station and her and her sister have just moved in with me" Bianca introduced me to a short brunette, a taller brunette and smiling blonde. I gave them all a small smile.

"Wow Charlie that dress is gorgeous…I'm Leah by the way. I own the diner" She moved over a stool for me to sit on.

"Yeah I agree that dress is fabulous for your figure…wish I still had a body like that but having kids does that to you" The other brunette continued. "I'm Roo by the way" She gave me a friendly smile and stuck out her hand to shake.

"And I'm Marilyn…its so nice to meet you" The blonde giggled.

"Its very nice to meet you all. Everyone here so far has made me feel so welcome" I smiled. "Why don't I go get us a bottle of champagne to share…on me as a gift" I decided to shout them all a drink. Bianca looked over at the bar and winked at me as I walked over. I then realised why. Darryl Braxton had not taken his eyes off me since I walked in and now I was heading straight towards him.

"I see you made an appearance" He smiled as I stood at the bar.

"Bianca made me" I groaned.

"Of course she did" We both looked over as she was eyeing off Heath Braxton from across the room.

"Bianca told me what happened last night…with your brother. I hope you told him to stay in line" Cop Charlie was about to make an appearance.

"Yeah I did…Heath's an idiot and Bianca shouldn't be mixing herself up with him" He was leaning against the bar shaking his head.

"I agree" I nodded. He looked up at me confused.

"You hardly know us...but I'm guessing you've heard the River Boy rep ay?" He asked knowingly.

"Hasn't everyone" I replied.

"Well don't always believe what you hear…now what can I get for you" He snapped, like I'd hit a nerve.

"Just a bottle of champagne and 5 glasses thanks" I handed over the money before he put it in the till.

"I'll bring it over…by the way Charlie. You look really…nice. I'm glad you came" He gave me an approving nod before I walked back over to the girls.

"So you and Brax were getting talkative over there" Marilyn nudged me.

"Oh just talking about Bianca and Heath" I looked over as Bianca was still staring at Heath "She just can't help herself can she" I laughed.

"Well she did go through a lot with Liam so let her have a little fun" Marilyn whispered also staring.

"Champagne ladies" Brax soon came over with our bottle and the glasses. "Enjoy" He smiled before heading back to the bar.

"Attracted to him yet?" Bianca whispered.

"No… now drop it!" I laughed, watching him walk back to the bar, still smirking at me. I turned away quickly, snapping myself out of it. I didn't need any distractions of the river boy kind while I was here! After chatting with a few blokes and getting a lot of attention from guys I decided it was time to head home.

"Come on Bianca lets go…you've got work tomorrow and I can tell you're going to be hung over" I tried to drag her away from the guy she was dancing with.

"No Charlie one more song" She sighed. I stepped back to the table with Leah as I could see Heath Braxton staring down the guy Bianca was with.

"Lets go Bi!" I took her hand.

"Just leave her with me…I'll take her home" The blonde headed guy smiled at me, taking Bianca's other hand.

"No I should really get going" Bianca smiled.

"No…stay" He pulled her back.

"Oi! The lady said she wanted to go, so let her go!" Heath stormed over all high and mighty.

"Heath, leave it" Bianca tried to stop him. I could see this was going to get ugly and my phone out ready to call the station immediately.

"And what are you going to do about it!" The other guy stood up the Heath and before I knew it a brawl had broken out. Brax had jumped over the bar and took my hand as I grabbed Bianca.

"You need to get out of here…I'll sort this out" He dragged me to the door.

"No, I am quite capable of handling myself!" I ripped my hand away from him and waited for the police. Within 5 minutes the restaurant was destroyed and the brawl was still happening. My colleagues had arrived and were trying to break it up. I watched as Brax ripped into a guy who was ripping into Heath.

"OI! GET OFF HIM!" I yelled grabbed both his arms and pushed him up against the wall as Watson and Stevenson grabbed the two other men.

"Charlie what the fuck are you doing?" He asked confused.

"Watson…the cuffs" She passed me a pair of handcuffs before I snapped them on him. "Darryl Braxton, I'm arresting you under the charge of assault. You are not obliged to say or do anything unless you wish to do so, but whatever you say or do may be used in evidence. Do you understand Mr Braxton?" I asked him, still with him pushed against the wall. He rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Charlie just let me go…it was nothing. I told you I'd sort it" He tried to justify himself as I took him down the stairs.

"Its Sergeant Buckton to you!" I escorted him towards the police car.


	8. Chapter 8: Holding cells and office woes

**Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed and added this to their favourites! Means a lot to me that you like my writing. I think everyone is going to love this chapter...I know I do ;) So keep reading and reviewing if you want to see more Chax action =D**

**Enjoy xo  
><strong>

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><p><strong><span> Chapter 8<span>**

Charlie's Point of View

I hopped in the front of the car with Watson as we escorted Brax down the station. I looked in the review mirror only to find him shaking his head and smirking at me. I turned around and glared at him before shaking my head also. Bianca and I should have never gone to this singles night. This wouldn't be happening if we had of stayed home. We soon got to the station & got out of the car. "Out!" I directed him. He continued looking at me with that smirk. "Get inside now" I grabbed his hands and pushed him through the door.

"Getting a bit rough there Charlie…and you're not even in uniform" He commented with a bit of a chuckle.

"Damn mate, you got the hot one" One of the River Boys also arrested nodded at Brax as I walked him into the station.

"All of you, sit down and shut up!" I yelled at the noisy brood.

"Serge, we've only got 1 holding cell left" Watson went to fill out the paper work and Stevenson brought in the other man who started the fight. "We can't put them all in the same cell"

"Oi come on Serge, what's the hold up? You gonna charge us or what? I've got a restaurant to clean up!" I looked over my shoulder only to find Darryl Braxton yelling at me.

"Put the river boys in the empty one, the other guy in the taken one and leave Darryl Braxton to me!" I rolled my eyes as I walked over to him. "Get in my office, now!" I pointed to the door. All the other river boys cheered and wolf whistled before being taken into the cells themselves.

"The good looking ones are always pigs. So is there any particular reason why you arrested me? Or was it just so you could get me alone in your office?" He sat down and smirked.

"Oh don't flatter yourself!" I laughed at something so ridiculous. "You were assaulting a man Mr Braxton"

"You'll actually find I was pulling him away from my brother…how is that assault?" He laughed back.

"Well from my point of view it didn't look like just pulling him away from your brother. Now clean yourself up!" I handed him a box of tissues to clean up his cut lip.

"It's a bit hard when my hands are cuffed" He stood up and turned around. I rolled my eyes before grabbing the keys and took his hands to undo them. I took them off only for him to turn around and smirk at me. "Thanks" He whispered, looking into my eyes. I stared into his blue, green eyes for a moment and before I knew it his hand had scooped my cheek and his lips were upon mine. I wanted to break away so fast but my body wouldn't let me. It was like I was magnetically stuck to him. My head's reaction finally stepped in, making me pull away and look at him wide eyed. "If I didn't know better I'd think you enjoyed that" He chuckled.

"Well …I…I can add assaulting a police officer to the list of charges now" I stuttered in shock.

"Oh come on Charlie…you liked that just as much as I did so don't deny it. You do know what would have made it a bit more sexy…if you were in uniform" He placed his hands on my hips and bit his lip.

"Get off me!" I grabbed his arms and pushed him back up to the wall, grabbing the cuffs and snapping them back on. I shook my head angrily before escorting him to the cells with all his river boy friends.

"Constable, keep an eye on Mr Darryl Braxton…I'll be back in in the morning" I rolled my eyes and straightened my dress before heading out, getting one last smirk off Brax. This was very, very bad!

I got home only to find Bianca slumped over on the couch with Leah comforting her. "Is Heath alright?" She asked as soon as I walked in.

"Yeah he's in lock up along with all the other guys involved" I sighed.

"Thanks for bringing her home Leah" I hugged the small woman.

"That's alright. I'll see you ladies tomorrow…sleep well Bianca" Leah smiled before leaving.

"I should have never gone to that singles night Charlie…I'm so sorry" Bianca burst into tears.

"Aww hun, its alright. At least I got to finally arrest some river boys" I hugged her and chuckled. Bianca laughed away her tears.

"I seen the way Brax was looking at you all night…he is so into you its not funny" Bianca smiled.

"I know…he may have kissed me while I was down at the station" I revealed.

"Oh my god! How was it? How was he?" She squealed.

"I don't want to talk about it…it shouldn't have happened and I stupid for even thinking that he was attractive tonight even if it was for just a couple of minutes. He's bad news along with Heath and we need to keep them out of our lives!" I told Bianca sternly.

"Ok deal! No more Braxton Brothers for me and no starting with Braxton Brothers for you!" Bianca smiled. I nodded and hugged her.

"Exactly. Now get some sleep hun…I'll see you in the morning" I told her before locking the front door and heading to bed myself.


	9. Chapter 9: Released and late

**HELLO! I'm so glad everyone liked the last chapter haha! Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed and favourited. Keep the reviews and theories coming! I love to here them =)**

**So here's a new chapter. Sorry its a tad short, just wanted to get some excess info from the last chapter in and of course create some tension between certain characters hehehe! Anywho's thanks to everyone who is reading this! Glad you all like it!**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

Ruby's Point of View

Another day of school, another day of hell! I couldn't believe how much I hated this place and I'd only been here for a couple of days. I got showered and dressed before walking out to find Charlie in her uniform. "How was the singles night? You didn't get home til late?" I asked seeing her making two coffees.

"Yeah there was a bit of a disagreement between some of the river boys so I had to go down the station" She sighed.

"Wow…were Casey's brothers' involved?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah Ruby they were. Now hurry up and get some breakfast. I've got to drive you and April to school this morning. Bianca's not feeling too well…unless you two are alright with walking?" She asked. I looked at April who shrugged.

"Yeah we'll walk" I replied before Charlie took a mug of coffee into Bianca. On the way to school April and I both picked up a croissant from the diner before continuing on our way. "I wonder how bad the fight was with the river boys" I talked to April as we walked up from the beach, nearing the surf club.

"Well look at the state of the outside of the place…I'd hate to see upstairs in Angelo's" April grimaced as we looked up at the broken glass on the upper restaurant balcony. We soon arrived to school and headed into roll call. I noticed my least favourite river boy wasn't there. It wasn't until a very lonely 2nd period of Modern History did the brunette, blue, greened eyed boy walk in and sit in the only vacant seat next to me.

"Casey Braxton, care to explain why you interrupted my class with your late entrance?" An annoyed looking Mr Johnson asked.

"I sighed in at the office ok! I had a few things going on at home!" He sulked back, slumping into his chair.

"Well next time please bring a note and don't barge in!" the teacher told him before continuing on with her explanation of world war 1.

"Why were you late?" I reached over and whispered to him.

"If you must know its because I had to walk to school because my mother was too drunk to drive me and my brothers are both hanging out at the police station…but of course you knew that because it was your sister who put them there!" He snapped and glared at me. I sat back in my seat and looked down at my work, feeling sorry for the guy.

Charlie's Point of View

I got into the station bright and early with a smile on my face, only to see Brax, Heath and the rest of the river boys walking out looking quite smug. "Um what are you doing out?" I spat at Brax who just kept smirking.

"The guy didn't want to press charges…I didn't want to press charges for the trashing of the restaurant so we were free to go…See you again Serge" He kept walking and turned around to salute me before winking. That guy seriously got under my skin!

I walked inside only to find Watson shaking her head at me. "I'm sorry…we couldn't hold them any longer if no one wanted to press charges" She apologised.

"Its fine…I'm sure we'll pick them up on something else" I sighed. I was going to bring Darryl Braxton down even if it was the last thing I did.


	10. Chapter 10: Friends after all?

**Thanks again to everyone who has read and reviewed! So happy everyone is liking this =D**  
><strong>Anywho's another chapter for you all! Please continue to read and review and yeah...<strong>

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

_A week later_

Brax's point of view

After finally cleaning up the restaurant we were back open for business and Heath was up to his old tricks. "Yo Bro…me and the boys are thinking about harvesting the crop in the national park tonight…you in?" Heath walked into my empty restaurant and asked me.

"You really gunna blurt that out here?" I questioned his stupidity. "The cops are all over this joint at the moment, so shut your mouth ay"

"Ok, clam down sweetheart…you in or you out for tonight?" He asked again a bit more quietly.

"Yeah, I'll come down after I finish closing this place up" I leant against the bar and nodded. "Now get out of here" I shooed him off as the one and only Sergeant Buckton came walking in. "Ah Charlie…what can I do for you?" I asked with a smile, looking her uniform clad body up and down.

"We've had a few cases of liquor stolen from Yabbie Creek…just wondering if you knew anything about it?" She asked, with that seriously, solemn look on her face.

"Of course you assume that it was one of my boys and come here straight away…well I can tell you now I've got no idea about that stolen liquor…I only buy my liquor from legal suppliers. I can show you the books if you like?" I replied defensively.

"That won't be necessary" She took a quick look around the bar before heading on her way. "Thank for your time" She yelled as she walked out.

"Yeah and thanks for wasting ours!" Heath yelled out after her.

"We've gotta watch our backs now that she's around" I warned Heath. And we really did. I knew what Charlie was up to and I knew she wouldn't stop until she had it.

Charlie's Point of View

After visiting Angelo's to make an enquiry I headed back to the station before heading home to rest up for the night shift. Before leaving to go back to work I had dinner with Ruby at the diner. I could tell she really didn't like it here but it was for the best. We had to get away from the city, it only reminded me of Dad and all the bad things that had happened during my teenage life. I didn't want to live the rest of my life living in a place that only gave me bad memories. Of course Ruby didn't remember anything but that was for the best. "So have you made any new friends at school?" I asked my little sister as she tucked into her quiche and salad.

"Not really…just April, Dexter and Xavier. Casey still hates me…and I'm pretty sure he hates me even more seeing as it was my older sister that arrested his older brothers" Ruby shrugged.

"I'm sorry Ruby, but you should have seen them…I had no choice" I shook my head and apologised.

"I don't think Casey is like his brother's, Charlie. I think he's different" Ruby shrugged before finishing off her plate and looking at her watch. "Um, don't you start work at 6.30?" She asked. I looked at my watched realising I had 10 minutes to get to the station.

"Crap…yes I do! Are you alright to walk home?" I asked her, standing up. She smiled and nodded before I kissed her forehead and ran off. I got to the station just in time for Watson to get a call in for a domestic. "Let me guess…Mangrove River?" I asked knowingly.

"Yep" She nodded before I grabbed the car keys and we headed on over. We pulled up in front of a familiar address. Getting out of the car I could hear yelling and screaming coming from inside before a teenager came storming out the door and ran off.

"YEAH THAT'S RIGHT! YOU GET OUT OF HERE YOU HOPELESS GOOD FOR NOTHING!" Cheryl Braxton followed him out. "Oh who called the pigs!" She commented on Watson and I walking up to her.

"Mum will you calm down…he didn't deserve that!" Brax pushed past his mother only to run into me. "Great…following me now are you?" he asked me seriously.

"No, we got a call in for a domestic issue. Care to explain what happened?" I asked him.

"Well my stupid sod of a son thought it would be good to voice his opinion on my mothering…apparently its not up to his standards" Cheryl butted in.

"Mum, you deserved that…what he didn't deserve was you throwing plates and vases at him!" Brax stormed off.

"Look there is nothing you can do, so why don't you piss off!" Cheryl walked inside before slamming the door shut. Watson and I walked back to the car only to get a call over the radio, informing us of several utes and motorbikes in the national park. Heading over there straight away we could hear the motorbikes speeding off into the distance, knowing we'd just missed them. What we hadn't missed was the half harvested crop of illegal marijuana. "Call forensics straight away" I informed the station over the radio, before trying to figure out who was behind this.

Ruby's Point of View

I decided to sit on the beach and watch the sunset before heading home. I had to admit, the beach and the sunset were beautiful and most of the people were nice, but I did miss my old friends. As I looked out towards the horizon I watched a figure run past me. Recognising the boy I yelled out. "Casey?" He stopped and looked at me before rolling his eyes and continued running. "Casey…stop!" I ran after him and pulled his arm. He violently jerked his arm away from me, causing me to fall straight on my arse.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" He yelled at me frustrated. "Please" he whispered.

"I just want to be your friend…but you know what, fine!" I got up and stormed off.

"Wait Ruby…I'm sorry" He ran back and grabbed my hand. I'm sorry. I've been a huge jerk lately and…"

"You've got a cut on your forehead" I reached up and pushed his hair out of the way. "What happened to you?" I asked shocked.

"My mum…she's just…mum" He sighed before pushing my hand away and sitting on the sand.

"You want to talk about it?" I asked, sitting down also.

"Oi Casey! She didn't mean it…just come home" A voice tore Casey's attention away as we both looked to the other man running down the beach. I assumed this was one of Casey's older brothers. "You look familiar…" He stared at me for a while. "Are you Charlie's sister?" He asked.

"Yeah…I'm assuming you're Brax?" I questioned.

"Yeah…look Case just come home and we'll sort this all out" Brax continued talking to Casey.

"No, I'm not going back there! I can't stand it there" Casey yelled at his older brother.

"Ok how about I make you a deal. You, me and Heath find a place to rent and we can move out…move here, to Summer Bay? Closer to my work, closer to school…closer to your friends" He nodded at me.

"Oh we're not friends" I shook my head before Casey looked at me. "Well not yet anyway" I smiled. Casey chuckled before looking at his brother.

"You're on" Casey stood up and shook his brother's hand. It was good Casey was finally getting out of Mangrove River. Maybe he would be a good friend after all.

Brax's Point of view

After getting Casey and I a van at the caravan for the night I headed back to the restaurant only for Heath to be standing there waiting for me. He looked furious. "Where the fuck were you?" He asked as soon as I walked into the closed restaurant.

"I had better things to so than help you harvest weed. Mum nearly killed Case tonight….lucky I was there!" I replied.

"Well we only got half of it done before the cops rocked up…someone leaked!" He gritted his teeth before pouring himself a drink. "We can't even go fucking back for the rest cause the pigs will be all over the joint!"

"So there is half our intake gone…shit!" I groaned, pouring myself a drink before sculling it and trying to think.

"Look I'll figure something out! Just as long as you were careful and didn't leave anything behind that could prove you were there. Keep your head down and go check how mum is doing. Case and I are gunna stay in a caravan for the next couple of days before we can find a place to rent. The kid will never get any school work done in that house, its like a fucking warzone ay" I sighed before Heath nodded and walked out the door. I punch my fist against the counter before taking another drink. With half our crop now gone we were screwed, and to add to that Casey and mum were just on each others nerves non stop! I could hear foot steps coming up the stairs before looking at my watch. "Its quarter to 12, we're closed!" I yelled out before watching Charlie walk in. She was wearing a skirt and a singlet top, so she was obviously not on duty. "Don't you think you've done enough today?" I shook my head at her.

"Actually I just wanted to see how Casey was…Ruby told me all about it. I'm sorry. I was just doing my job. We got a call from a neighbour and we had to answer it" She explained.

"Yeah I know…Casey's doing alright. I got us a van at the caravan park for the time being…just until I can find a place for us to rent. I just can't have him in that house…I want him to make something for himself rather than turn out like Heath or I…or our Dad for that fact!" I sighed. I couldn't believe I was practically pouring my heart out to this girl. "But what would you care…I'm sure you had the perfect childhood and was the popular girl in high school" I chuckled.

"You'd be surprised" She muttered, walking closer to me. "Its nice to see that you are trying to get your little brother out of Mangrove River...I wouldn't expect that from you" She looked at me seriously. Her eyes were amazing and I couldn't look away.

"And I wouldn't expect a gorgeous woman like you to be a cop" I smirked.

"And you had to ruin it…we were doing so well" She laughed. I chuckled back before leaning on the bar.

"Look Charlie…why are you really here?" I asked, wanting to close up and go to bed.

"I just wanted to know if you knew where your other brother, Heath, was tonight?" Her beautiful smile faded as she got seriously.

"No I have no idea….why?" I asked, knowing where this was going.

"Its just that a car matching the description of his car was seen in an area of a crime scene at the national park tonight" She replied.

"Oh ok…we'll when I see him next I have a talk to him" I nodded. She just looked at me before shaking her head and walking off.

"Wait…what was that?" I chuckled, running out from behind the bar and pulling her back.

"Nothing" She smiled one last time before walking down the stairs. If she wasn't a cop I would be there so fast, but the kiss I gave her last week was probably the furthest I would get, no matter how hard I tried.


	11. Chapter 11: New neighbours

**Hello my lovelies! Sorry I haven't added in a while! Anywho's got a new chapter for you, I hope you all enjoy ;)**  
><strong>So what does everyone think about Esther Anderson nominated for the Gold Logie? I think its amazing and I really hope she wins! I've been voting for her! I also hope Steve Peacocke wins in his category! Anywho's tell me what you think of this chapter and thanks again to everyone who reads and reviews. Keep it up =)<strong>

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 11<span>**

_A week later_

Charlie's Point of View

After a number of leads and questioning Heath Braxton and a number of other river boys, along with searching the Mangrove River home, we had come up with nothing on the marijuana crop. "I'm sure they'll slip up Serge…Heath Braxton is an idiot" Watson reassured me.

Ruby and I had finally settled into this small town and made a number of friends including Leah, Roo, Marilyn and Irene.

"Ah Charlie just the usual for you and Ruby this morning?" Irene asked with a smile as Ruby and I walked in for breakfast one morning on my day off.

"Yes thank you" I smiled back as we sat down. "So how's Casey doing? He back home yet?" I asked Ruby, knowing that her and Casey had gotten somewhat friendly.

"I'm not sure…I haven't really talked to him. He did mention that Brax was looking at a place to rent and that they were pretty sure they would get it…but I haven't really sat down and discussed anything with him. He's pretty busy with school and trying to catch up on study" Ruby shrugged.

"Ok, but just don't get…you know, romantically involved with him Rubes. He's got a pretty messed up background and I really don't want you to be a part of that" I warned her.

"Yes Mum" she chuckled with a salute. If only she knew the truth behind that. I sighed before our food got placed in front of us. Ruby scoffed hers down and headed to school before I finished mine and headed up to the counter to pay.

"Day off is it Sergeant?" I turned to find Brax standing there smirking.

"Yes and I was enjoying it until now" I rolled my eyes and placed a note on the counter. "Keep the change" I told Leah before walking out.

"Ay, wait up…I just wanted to thank you for leaving Mum's house in ruins the other day…she really didn't appreciate it" He nodded at me seriously.

"I was just doing my job, your brother was a suspect…can't help that" I replied.

"Of course you can't. Just face the facts Charlie…you're out to get us, no matter who gets hurt in the process" He walked closer to me and nearly whispered in my ear before walking off. I shook my head as I watched him get into his car and speed off.

Ruby's Point of view

After breakfast with Charlie I headed off to school. First period was English and I knew we were being given an assignment that I was not looking forward. "Ok class, so the assignment I will be handing out today will be a partner presentation and this will be worth 50% of your final mark…" You could see everyone eyeing someone off as their partner as the teacher spoke. "Now I will go through the roll and assign partners. I want to see how well you can work with someone you don't know. Seeing as the assignment is on change and the concept of change I am going to put you outside your comfort zone and make sure everyone experiences a change" April looked at me before rolling her eyes at the thought of being split up from Dex. I just shrugged and continued listening to the teacher. "So once I call you and your partners name I would like you to both come up to my desk and collect the assignment then go find somewhere to sit and remain quiet until I've finished…the I will give the rest of the class to figure out and read through the assignment" The teacher smiled before sitting down and going through the roll. "So could I get Sarah and Justin together thanks, Karlee and Olivia, Ben and James, Dexter and Felicity, Duncan and Georgina, Peter and Jessica, Matthew and Karina, Ashley and Harriet, Sam and Michael, April and Jessica…and Ruby and Casey" I stood up and walked to the front and looked behind me only to find Casey giving me a small smile. We grabbed the assignment and sat down together up the back before discussing it.

"So I was thinking that maybe we could use a poem as a text…maybe…its up to you of course" I suggested.

"No that would be great…I think a lot of people will probably use movies as texts so a poem would definitely be different" He chuckled and agreed.

"Well we could get together this afternoon and find something?" I smiled back.

"Actually I can't this arvo…Brax got us a place to rent so we're moving in as soon as I'm finished here today" He smiled back.

"Oh wow, that's great! I'm so happy for you" I beamed. "In Summer Bay? Where about?" I continued with the questions.

"Um Saxon Avenue…its just a few streets away from the surf club and the diner and everything else"

"Wow, that's my street!"

Brax's Point of View

After getting approval for the rental property in Summer Bay, Casey and I decided to move in straight away. Heath had asked to move in as well. I was a bit reluctant at first but he was my brother…I couldn't just leave him out. After running into Charlie at the diner I headed over to Mangrove River to pick up some more stuff from home. "You don't have to leave do ya?" Mum was now pleading. Now that all 3 of her sons were moving out of home she had no one to help pay the bills and no one to look after her when she came into money problems.

"Mum it was going to happen one day" I sighed, grabbing another box and putting into the back of my ute. "Shouldn't you be at work?" I asked confused.

"Nah I chuckled a sickie today…couldn't bear seeing my boys leave me" She replied. I just rolled my eyes before continuing to fill the ute. I soon drove over to the new house and put some of my stuff in the main bedroom. Of course I was to get the main bedroom, I was the oldest and most mature…and I definitely had plans to have ladies over. After unpacking the ute I look at the outside of the house and over to the next door neighbours house. I decided now would be a better time then ever to introduce myself. Walking over and onto the front deck and heard a woman singing. The see through glass door was open so I knocked and walked in only to find Charlie standing there in a black bra and black panties ironing her work uniform.

"GET OUT!" She screamed, grabbing the clothes and trying to cover herself up. By the time she'd heard me I had already got a good look at that body of hers and I had liked what I saw.

"You might want to close your front door next time you're ironing ay" I chuckled as she walked over and pushed me out.

"I said get out!" She continued yelling as the shirt she was holding to cover herself up fell to the floor.

"I just came over to introduce myself to my new next door neighbour…got more than I bargained for ay. I don't know what I like better, you with the uniform on or just this" I continued laughed as she pushed me onto the front door and slammed the glass door. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I walked back over to the ute. Living next door to a hot cop. Going to be a challenge, but I think I could handle this.


	12. Chapter 12: Only being neighbourly

**So sorry guys! Haven't added in a while! I had my birthday on friday and took me a few days to recover and I have recently become quite obsessed with 'The Hunger Games' and I am am frantically reading the books and I have seen the movie like 3 times (HOW GOOD IS IT?) so I haven't really focused on writing or adding haha. But here you go, a new chapter and a very saucy one if I might add ;)**

**I hope you all like it. Thanks for reading and reviewing and keep your reviews coming!**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

Ruby's point of view

I was walking home from school only to hear my name being yelled out "Ruby! Ruby wait up!" I turned to find Casey smiling at me.

"Oh hey" I smiled back.

"Where's April?" He asked confused as to why I was walking alone.

"Oh she went to start her English assignment with her partner" I replied, continuing walking.

"Oh ok…well now I'll have me to walk you home…seeing as we'll be neighbours" He chuckled.

"Yeah…that'll be nice" I smiled back as I soon reached my house.

"Well this is me" He stated, pointing to the house next door with a black ute parked out the front, along with a removalist van.

"And this is me….next door neighbours…I could get used to that" I chuckled before walking inside. "Charlie?" I called out as I walked inside. "Charlie, you'll never guess who our new neighbours are" I smiled, dumping my bag in my room and finding her in the laundry.

"Unfortunately I already know" She sighed.

"Why what happened?" I asked concerned.

"I got called into the station for a couple of hours this arvo to do some paper work and as I was ironing my uniform…in nothing but my underwear, Brax walked in!" She groaned. I tried to stifle my laughter but it ended up bursting out. "Its not funny Ruby!" She snapped.

"It is pretty funny" I laughed.

"Hello my lovely ladies…has anyone seen the hot new neighbours?" Bianca walked in with a grin on her face. I started laughed again and explained the story to Bi. "Well Brax definitely got more than anticipated when coming over here" She was now laughing as well as Charlie gave us both menacing glares. "Well I'm going to go out the front and have a bit of a perve…always liked Heath better with his shirt off" She sighed, walking into the front yard.

Charlie's Point of View

Ruby and I followed Bianca out as I noticed both Brax and Heath with their shirts off, carrying a lounge. Brax's muscles were so defined as he lifted it up the front stairs, noticing me and winking. I just kept staring at his body like he was a piece of meat, watching the sweat drip from his forehead before he walked inside. Both Bianca and I sighed as Ruby stood there laughing at us. "Oh this is hilarious!" She stated before Casey walked out and waved at Ruby. She blushed and waved back.

"Really…hilarious is it?" I chuckled. Brax and Heath soon walked back out. Heath smirked at Bianca, knowing he was making her week at the knees.

"Why is he so good looking?" She groaned.

"Bianca, we said no Braxton Brothers in our lives…we have to stay strong" I stood my ground.

"But now its so tempting because they live next door" She continued moaning. "You know what, I think I'm going to do the neighbourly thing and see if they need any help moving their stuff inside" Bianca nodded strongly.

"Bi…don't do it" I watched as she slowly walked over, turning around and winking at me. I watched as Heath and Bianca hopelessly flirted before turning and looking at Brax, stare my body up and down. I shook my head before walking over.

"Don't you think you got enough of a look today?" I asked.

"I don't think I could ever get sick of looking at you" He smirked; placing his hands on his hips, making his arms muscles pop. Internally I was sighing, just wanting to place my hands on his arms. "And by the looks of things, you're having an excellent time staring at me" He broke my glance away from his tattooed torso and arms. I stormed off back to the house, taking Ruby with me.

"Actually I have to talk to Casey about an English assignment" She smiled, pulling away and walking over to the young boy. Looked like we were all getting wrapped up with the River Boys. Soon enough Bianca and Ruby were back and helping me make dinner.

"So they are all moved in and trying to settle in for the night" Bianca smiled.

"Planning on staying the night are you?" I asked seriously.

"No!" She exclaimed quickly, taking a carrot stick and walking off.

"You were, weren't you!" I laughed.

"Oh but Charlie he is so good looking and I just can't stay away from him! And don't deny that you don't think the same thing about Brax…I've seen the way you look at him! You want a piece of him…a really big piece of him!" She smirked.

"Shut up! I do not! I am a police officer, a professional woman and he is a very, very shifty character to get involved with…no matter how attractive he is" I mumbled the last part.

"Well he's already seen you practically naked….sounds like the start of a great relationship…I can't believe you yelled at him! Its not his fault you were ironing in your underwear!" Bianca stated. I had to admit I did feel a little bit bad for screaming at him, but he did make some crude comments. "I think you should go apologise…and take them over some of this lasagne for dinner…they probably have no food in the house what so ever" Bianca grabbed the tray of fresh lasagne and handed it to me.

"Fine" I groaned before heading out the door and through to next door. I tapped on the door and waited, hoping that Casey or Heath would open the door.

"Ah nice to see you again" Brax opened the front door with his hair dripping wet and only a towel wrapped around his waist.

"I came to apologise for yelling at you today and I brought this over for you all…Bianca didn't think you would have any food" I tried my best to look everywhere but at him.

"Aw thanks…very neighbourly of you" He took the tray off me, our hands touching briefly, causing me to look straight into his blue green eyes. He took it inside and placed it on the table, which was surrounded in boxes. I turned to leave but only got stopped by a hand pulling me back.

"Where are Heath and Casey?" I asked, pulling my hand away from his.

"Casey's in the shower and Heath went down the surf club with some of the boys" He continued smiling. "So its just you and me…" He trailed off, looking into my eyes. I got wrapped up deep as his lips closed in on mine. It was like he drew me in every time. His hands cupped my cheeks as mine palmed at his damp, bare torso. He pushed me up against the closest wall as we viciously made out. His tongue entered my mouth, making me pull him in closer. I could feel him smiling into the kiss as his hands moved from my cheeks to my hips. What was I doing? I couldn't go around kissing criminals! I quickly pulled away, looking at his smirk wide eyed before watching his towel drop to the floor.

"OH MY GOD!" I screamed turning around.

"Woops" He chuckled, picking up the towel and re-wrapping it around himself. "Well that was…interesting" I turned around and looked at him. He leaned in and tried to kiss me again.

"No!" I slapped his cheek. Still shocked and horrified at what I had done.

"Charlie…I reckon if you actually got to know me, you'd fine that I'm actually a pretty nice guy ay" He smiled. I shook my head before leaving. Who would have thought, going around to apologise and be neighbourly would end up in that.


	13. Chapter 13: No River Boy after all

**Sorry, short chapter, but I wanted to leave you all on a bit of a cliffhanger haha ;)**  
><strong>Anywho's we've been hearing about Brax and Charlie a lot in the past couple of chapters, so I thought I'd through in a bit of Ruby and Casey as well. Thanks again to everyone who reads and reviews, seriously love reading your theories and comments =)<strong>

**Thanks again.**  
><strong>Enjoy xo<strong>

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 13<span>**

Ruby's point of view

Casey and I had become closer and he was actually a really nice guy. We had been doing our English assignment at my place the past couple of afternoons due to Casey trying to move and settle in to his new house over the past week. "So I was thinking maybe I could come over this afternoon and we could continue that assignment yeah?" I suggested as I sat down next to him in history.

"Umm…why don't I come over to yours? Its just that…my Internet isn't running yet" He nodded as he looked at me apprehensively.

"Umm yeah sure. Just come over after school" I smiled back. School was soon finished and I was at home setting up some space so we could work on our assignment.

"Knock, Knock" Casey was standing at my front door smiling.

"Oh hey" I greeted back as he walked in and we both sat down on the sofa. "So I was thinking we could continue getting quotes from this poem and connecting them to the topic?" I suggested, handing him the poetry book.

"Yeah…actually I worked on a few last night at home" He gave me his note book and I had a bit of a read of them.

"Why don't we ever work at your house?" I asked curiously, grabbing a carrot stick from the plate of snacks I put on the coffee table. He just looked at me. "Casey?"

"Oh um…like I said my internet is down" He looked down at the book.

"Casey I'm not stupid…does it have anything to do with your brothers?" I continued. He sighed before looking at me.

"Its just Heath…with you being the sister of a cop he'll just pick on me and I just wish Brax hadn't have let him move in with us" Casey sighed. "Heath and Brax…they are independent and I can rely on them, but Heath is just so stupid sometimes" Casey continued. "I know you've only ever heard bad things about them and the river boys and their influence, but growing up with them, I suppose I'm just use to it" He tried to give me a smile.

"Well…why do you still hang out with them if they are such bad influences?" I asked, still confused.

"They are my family Ruby…they raised me and its all I've ever known. Brax doesn't want me to turn out like him and Heath and I know that" He nodded. I smiled before taking his hand in mine.

"Casey, if you let the right people into your life, you can have a life away from the River Boys" I looked into his hazel, grey eyes.

"Yeah…I know" He smiled, putting his face closer to mine, slowly kissing my lips. After a while of gentle kissing, we found ourselves now on the couch making out passionately. "Wait…wait Ruby" He pulled away as he was leant over me. "Is this what you really want? To get wrapped up with a river Boy?" He asked, looking at me sadly.

"Casey, this is what I want…and you are no where near a river boy…you're too sweet for that" I giggled before reaching up and pulling him into a kiss.

"What the hell is going on here?" A loud voice broke us away from each other. We sat up only to find Charlie standing at the front door, fuming.


	14. Chapter 14: Common Ground?

**Hello part people! Haha sorry I'm in a really good party mood because I'm having my mexican themed birthday party this weekend haha! Anywho's New chapter! I hope you all like it! Thanks for the reviews, messages and favourites! Keep them coming and tell me what you think of this one =D**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

Charlie's Point of View

"Serge, we've had no other leads on that marijuana crop, but knowing the Braxton's they'll slip up somehow" Watson assured me as we were still going over the case. I knew they were involved somehow, even if they all had alibies I knew Heath was involved, but no telling Bianca that. She had her head in the clouds when it came to Heath. You'd think that seeing as her ex was a drug addict she'd stay away from Heath, but nope, it was like she was attracted to bad boys. After finishing up for the day I decided to head home and relax, hoping that Ruby was home so we could do some sisterly bonding, something we hadn't done since we moved here. I walked in the front door only to see two figures on the couch…

"What the hell is going on here?" I tried not to yell as Ruby and Casey detached their lips from each other and sat up staring at me in shock.

"I was just leaving actually" Casey stood up.

"Ruby?" I asked her.

"Casey and I were doing an assignment and it just happened" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Casey, leave now…and never set foot in this house again!" I pointed to the door sternly.

"Don't talk to him like that Charlie!" Ruby stood up and tried to stop him.

"No, Ruby I should go" Casey sighed before storming out the front door.

"Ruby I thought you would have known better!" I yelled at her as soon as Casey was gone.

"Charlie, I told you, he is not like the others but once you get your mind on something you can never let go! You don't even know him, you don't know any of the river boys!" She yelled back. Bianca walked through the front door before noticing our screaming match and heading to her room.

"He's a Braxton Ruby…he's just as troubled as the rest of them and I forbid you to stop seeing him!" I tried to discipline her.

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME WHO I CAN AND CAN'T HANG OUT WITH! YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER AND YOU NEVER WILL BE!" Ruby yelled at me before bursting into tears and storming out of the house. I tried to go after her.

"Charlie she needs time…you need to stop babying her. I get she is your only sister but there comes a time where you just need to stop and let her make her own mistakes and grow up on her own" Bianca walked out and stopped me. She was right.

"I know Bi, but I just don't want her to make the same mistakes I did" I tried not to cry. Bianca scooped me up into a hug.

"If it makes you feel any better, she's right. Casey's not like the others. I've seen him at school…he works really hard compared to a lot of other students who have grown up right here in Summer Bay" Bianca smiled. I still wasn't convinced and I knew Ruby would keep seeing him. There was only one thing I could do.

"I need to talk to you" I stormed into Angelo's, walking right up to Brax who was standing at the bar.

"And hello to you too. If you haven't noticed I'm a bit busy at the moment…so this 'talk' is going to have to wait" He replied bluntly.

"Well it can't wait Brax!" I gritted my teeth. He sighed before pointing over to an empty table in the corner.

"Sit down and I'll be over in a minute" He nodded before walking through the busy restaurant. After around 10 minutes of waiting Brax finally joined me at the table bring with him a pizza. "You looked a bit hungry…I thought maybe we could share it?" He suggested before taking a piece himself.

"I didn't come here to eat pizza! I came here to tell you to keep your youngest brother away from my sister!" I replied sternly, glaring at him. He laughed with his mouthful.

"Casey? Why, what did he do?" He continued chuckling.

"I found them on the couch in my house today making out" I was honestly disgusted at the way he was treating this.

"Good on him. Ruby's a gorgeous girl, I don't see the problem" He shrugged. "Oh hold on…its because Casey's a Braxton…of course" It finally hit Brax. "Look, I'm not going to tell him who he can and can't see Charlie. He's old enough to make those decisions himself"

"Well when it concerns my sister I want him to stay away!" I snapped before storming out. I got home and looked in Ruby's room, but she still wasn't home.

"Sorry hun, haven't seen her" Bianca gave me a small smile as she patted down a spot on the lounge for me.

"Would April know where she is?" I asked.

"April's over at Dex's…so I doubt it. Honestly Charlie give her some time…she'll come home" Bianca tried to reassure me. April had gotten home and both her and Bianca had gone to bed, but still no sign of Ruby. I got changed into a pair of silk pyjamas and sat on the lounge, waiting until she got home. I was half asleep when I heard a knock on the front door. I opened it only to find Ruby standing there with a guys hoodie on, along with Brax.

"Where have you been? I've been so worried!" I exclaimed hugging her tightly.

"I'm fine Charlie…I just want to go to bed" She rolled her eyes before walking into her room. I looked at Brax.

"Where was she?" I questioned.

"I got home from work and went in to talk to Casey and found them talking...I convinced her it was best to come home rather than hide from you." Brax nodded.

"Oh…thanks" I nodded back.

"Look Charlie…can I come in? I just want to talk to you about Casey…I promise, no sneaky stuff" He put his hands up, trying to convince me. I gave him a small smile before letting him in. We sat on the couch together silently, before Brax made the first move. "So I had a chat to Casey about all of this…he really likes Ruby and he's never had a girlfriend before, he's never been confident like Heath and I…and I think they'd be good for each other" Brax smiled.

"Maybe he would be, but I don't want my sister hanging around with …"

"River Boys?" He finished my sentence. "Charlie, Casey is a different kid to all us lot ay. He's smart and I raised him to respect woman and respect people in general. I wouldn't be saying this to you if I generally thought Casey just wanted Ruby for a fling…he really likes her, so why don't we let them do their own thing ay?" Brax continued.

"How do you do it? How do you look after your two younger brothers…I can barely raise Ruby and its only been a couple of months since Dad died. Its like she despises me sometimes, but I'm only looking out for her…I just can't let her make the same mistakes I did…but at the same time I feel like I'm pushing her away" I rambled on.

"You've gotta let her do her own thing, discover who she is and who she wants to be…she can't find that out herself unless she makes some mistakes and then she can learn from them" Brax gave me a small smile.

"Its just hard sometimes. I know she hates living here and I just want what's best for her and for her to be happy" I shrugged.

"Maybe she won't hate living here as much if you let her and Casey hang out…I mean even if you ban her from seeing him, she will ignore you and they are going to see each other at school every day" He chuckled.

"Yeah I suppose" I gave him a small smile. We looked at each other for a while before Brax stood up.

"Well I should be off…have a good night…and don't let the bed bugs bite ay" He winked before heading out the door.

"Night" I whispered as he shut it behind him. Maybe there was something Darryl Braxton and I did have in common...even if it meant letting my sister hanging out with his brother.


	15. Chapter 15: A kiss with a fist

**Hello everyone! So sorry, haven't added in a while, been trying and failing to write, but I feel ok with this chapter. You don't know how hard it was to not write a saucy scene at the end of this chapter! I was literally using all my willpower, but it wouldn't be right cause I have much bigger and better plans for this =D  
>Anywho's thanks to all of those who read and review and have kept reading this even though I haven't added in a while =)<strong>

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 15<strong>

Charlie's Point of view

I had decided after Ruby got home I would let her sleep and talk to her in the morning, but by the time I had got up, she was gone. I decided seeing it was a Saturday morning to go down the beach to see if she was there. I noticed Ruby on the beach with Casey and Brax. Brax had her on a surfboard on the sand, teaching her how to surf. "It would have been nice if you told me where you were going this morning" I walked up to them, looking at Ruby. She shot me a filthy look before Brax intervened.

"You know what Casey, why don't you come and help me set up for the lunch rush at Angelo's." He patted Casey on the shoulder. Casey looked at me and nodded.

"I'll come" Ruby piped up.

"Ah nah Rubes…I think you and Charlie need to talk" Brax nodded at me.

"Thanks" I mouthed to him before watching Casey and him walk off. "Can we talk about last night Ruby?" I sat down on the sand next to her.

"Why? You going to tell me who I can and can't see?" Ruby snapped back.

"No…I want to apologise for yelling at you and Casey last night. I was just shocked that's all…I don't want you making the same mistakes I did and after talking to Brax last night, he convinced me that Casey is a good guy…and if you want to see him or date him then…go right ahead…what ever makes you happy. I know how hard its been for you to move here and I'm sorry for making it even harder" I nodded at her. She looked at me with her big blue eyes and smiled.

"I'm sorry too Charlie…I didn't mean to yell at you either" She hugged me tightly. I kissed her forehead and broke away. "So you mean to say that I can go out with Casey?" She smiled at me.

"Yeah…just as long as you don't hang around any of the other River Boys" I told her sternly.

"I promise…thank you Charlie!" She squealed before jumping up and running up towards Angelo's, passing Brax on his way back down.

"I assume that went well then?" He smiled before picking up the spare board Ruby had been using.

"Yeah it did…I took your advice…hopefully it works" I chuckled.

"Ruby's got some good technique when it comes to surfing…would it be alright if Case and I gave her a few lessons in the future…I think she'll be a natural in the water" Brax replied.

"Um…yeah, sure. Its fine with me, if its fine with her" I nodded. "Well I should go get ready for work" I nodded awkwardly before walking off.

"Charlie…wait!" He stopped me. I turned and looked at him. "The boys and I are having a bit of a house warming barbeque tonight if you were interested in coming" He had a smirk across his face.

"I'll think about it" I nodded before giving him a little smile. I got home and got ready for work before heading to the station. "Watson you're with me on patrol. I want to see if any of the river boys are causing any trouble at the beach" I walked out of my office.

"Sure thing" She smiled before grabbing the keys to the patrol car. As we were driving towards Summer Bay, Watson and I were talking casually. "So I seen you down the beach this morning talk to Darryl Braxton" She commented.

"Ah yes…he's my next door neighbour and my sister is now dating Casey Braxton" I rolled my eyes in her direction.

"Ah I see…well at least now you can now go and scope out their house with the excuse that you're borrowing a cup of sugar" She laughed before pulling into the car park of the surf club. We walked the top of the beach before seeing a suspicious Heath Braxton with a backpack, looking at us before power walking away.

"Mr Braxton…fine day for a walk" I smiled at him as we caught up to him heading towards his car.

"Its alright I suppose" He mumbled, trying to walk past us.

"Care to show us what's in the bag?" Watson and I followed.

"Actually Constable…and Sergeant I'm quite busy" He went to open the door before I pushing him gently into it and threw the bag to Watson.

"We asked nicely" I held his hands behind his back as Watson looked through the bag.

"Care to explain what this is?" Watson pulled out a few small bags of dried cannabis leaves.

"I've never seen that before in my life. You pigs set me up" He tried to play dumb.

"Mr Braxton, I'm arresting you under the charge of drug possession. You are not obliged to say or do anything unless you wish to do so, but whatever you say or do may be used in evidence. Do you understand Mr Braxton?" I cuffed him.

"This is fucking police brutality!" He snorted as we put him in the car and drove him to the station. After interviewing and charging him he was put into a see before bail was granted and he made a phone call first to a lawyer and then to…

"WHERE IS HE?" Brax stormed into the station glaring at me.

"He's in the cell. We've charged him with drug possession and we are now testing the cannabis found on him against the cannabis crop we found a few weeks earlier that your brothers car was suspiciously seen driving around at the time.

"Well I want to bail him out!" He continued glaring. I handed him over the paperwork before walking out to get Heath.

"Finally bro!" Heath looked relieved as he seen his brother. Brax was pissed, not only at me, but at Heath as well. Very interesting indeed.

Brax's Point of view

I signed all the forms and handed over the cash to bail Heath out before glaring at Charlie and leaving. How could something so beautiful be wrapped up in with the cops? She was making it so much harder for me to not find her attractive. "You fucking idiot!" I pushed Heath up to my car and sneered at him.

"I'm sorry bro…I was trying to get rid of it in case the cops came crawling through the national park again or even around the house" He tried to justify himself as he pushed me away.

"Use your fucking head next time! Because of you I might not have the money to bail you out next time! And you're probably going to be sent to gaol! Your record from juvi doesn't do you any good either!" I hopped in the car and drove him home. We got inside only to find Ruby and Casey on the sofa making out.

"What the fuck is she doing here?" Heath practically yelled at Casey.

"Ruby, I think you should go" I sighed before pointing towards the door.

"What the fuck are you doing with a pigs sister Case?" Heath continued to yell at Casey who just shook his head and followed Ruby out.

"Now I've got to go back to work…can you promise me that you won't get into any more trouble while I'm gone?" I asked.

"Yeah sure…just make sure you bring home some booze for the house warming tonight" He got himself a beer out of the fridge before flopping on the sofa.

"After today you really think that's on?" I shook my head before storming out.

Charlie's Point of View

After a successful shift I headed home only to find Bianca and Ruby both dollying themselves up. "What's going on here?" I chuckled at them both in the bathroom doing their make up.

"The Braxton's house warming…you going?" Bianca asked as she curled her eyelashes.

"Um after today I don't think its going to be on" I shook my head. The both looked at me confused. "I arrested Heath on a charge of drug possession" I shrugged my shoulders.

"That explains why he was in such a bad mood when I was over there this arvo" Ruby explained.

"You're joking!" Bianca stormed out. "He told me he had stopped all that!" Bianca yelled.

"Bi, you knew what you were getting into when you started sleeping with him" I sighed. She shook her head before looking at me.

"Stuff this, the music over there is pumping so I'm going and having a good time…maybe I can even punch Heath in the face while I'm there" Bianca stood up before heading back to the bathroom.

"Ruby are you really going to go?" I questioned my sisters plans.

"Yeah Casey and I are just going to hang out and if things get rowdy we'll probably come back here…don't worry about me" She kissed my cheek before leaving.

"Wait…I'll come too…just to make sure everything is legal" I groaned before quickly letting down my hair and getting changed into a pair of shorts and a singlet top. We headed over and through the back gate. I was hoping Brax and Heath wouldn't see me because I knew after today I wouldn't be welcome. There were too many people for Heath to even notice and Brax was nowhere to be seen. I got myself a drink and Bianca and I watched as Casey and Ruby sat down talking. Bianca soon spotted Heath before angrily walking over to him, pulling his arm and dragging him inside the house to obviously yell at him. I was now alone and had no reason to be here until…

"What the fuck is going on here?" Brax walked in through the back gate and looked at all the drunks in his backyard. I quickly headed inside the house so he didn't see me. Walking past Heath's room the familiar laugh of Bianca was heard along with a few moans and groans. I pulled a disgusted face as I continued walking past and into the kitchen.

"Fucking hell Heath! When you're done in there I'm going to kill you!" I heard Brax's voice yell as he banged on Heath's bedroom door before he walked into the kitchen and found me. "What are you doing here?" He asked, starting to get defensive.

"You invited me" I nodded, backing up against the counter.

"Well after today I am un-inviting you!" He pointed as he came closer.

"Hey its not my fault your brother had drugs on him" I replied back. He shook his head before leaning into me.

"Get out of my house now!" His gorgeous eyes were raging, making him look somewhat more attractive.

"What are you going to do if I don't?" I smirked. I wanted to have some fun with him, see how far this could go. He smirked back before shaking his head.

"You may be a cop, but under that tough exterior I know there is just a vulnerable little girl who is just looking at playing games with people. But guess what sweetheart…I'm not up for any of your games!" He hissed into my ear before placing a kiss on it.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of" I grabbed his jaw between one hand and smirked before he pulled away. I walked past him before feeling his large hand pull me back and push me up against the wall.

"I've got a pretty good idea actually" He smirked back. My heart was starting to pound and I could feel my breathing quickening as those eyes bore into me. "Can you feel this as much as I can?" He asked, trailing his finger along my collarbone. I shuddered at his touch before snapping back to reality.

"No…I can't" I pushed him away before going to leave out the front door.

"Oh come on Charlie" He shook his head following me. I shook my head before standing on my tippy toes and placing a slow, passionate kiss on his lips. Breaking away I gave him a small smiling before leaving. One kiss wouldn't hurt. He knew he wasn't getting anymore.


	16. Chapter 16: Ignorance is bliss

**Hello all you lovely people! Another chapter for you all =) . Thanks to all those you read and review. I love to hear your thoughts. Anywho's keep the reviews coming.**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 16<strong>

Brax's Point of view

She kissed me! She was feeling this as much as I was! Who cares if she was a cop, I wanted her and I wanted her bad! The next day before heading off to work I cleaned up after the party and went for a surf. Taking off my shirt I looked out towards the ocean only to see Charlie looking mighty fine in a brown bikini walking out of the waves towards a towel a little further away from mine. I watched as she swept her long dark hair over her shoulder and her hips swinging in time with her walk. "Nice morning for it" I commented. She just looked at me blankly before wrapping a towel around herself and started to walk away.

"Hey…wait up! I want to talk to you about what happened at the station yesterday…I'm sorry I snapped at you, but he's my brother" I explained.

"No need to explain to me" She replied bluntly.

"Ok then, well can we talk about what happened last night?" I asked confused.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" She shook her head and started to walk off. I grabbed her hand and laced my fingers between hers. Both our eyes looked at our connected hands before trailing up towards each others face.

"Yes you do" I smirked, pulling her towards me. She pulled away quickly.

"Just leave me alone!" She snapped before storming off. Fine, if that's the game she wanted to play then she was going to have a lot of competition.

Charlie's Point of view

I got home and stood in the kitchen trying to comprehend what I had gotten myself into. Why did I kiss him? I pretty much gave him the ok, that it was fine to flirt with me and that I liked him! "What's up with you?" Bianca scared me as she walked out of the hallway.

"Nothing!" I snapped before pouring myself coffee.

"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Brax…cause as you know I was in Heath's room last night and I heard you and him talking in the kitchen" She smirked at me knowingly.

"What ever Bianca" I laughed, calling her bluff.

"… 'Can you feel this as much as I can?'…" She tried to imitate Brax's manly voice. I couldn't help but laugh. "I was close though" She also laughed.

"I kissed him Bianca…I gave him exactly what he wanted!" I sighed before taking a sip of coffee.

"A little taste couldn't hurt!" She smirked before walking into the bathroom. If only he could see it that way.

Brax's Point of View

After my confrontation with Charlie I went for my surf and headed up to Angelo's. Sunday's weren't very busy so I managed to get a heap of bookwork done before headed downstairs to pay John Palmer the rent. "Ah Hey Case…Ruby" I ran into Casey and Ruby hanging around at the pool table. "Actually Rubes…do you know where I can find Charlie?" I asked curiously.

"She's in the gym actually…but she's in a really weird mood" Ruby shrugged her shoulders. I headed into the gym and seen Charlie on the treadmill. She seen me before quickly putting in her headphones. I got in front of her and turned off the machine before pulling out her earphones.

"Pretty sure I said I wasn't up for any of your games" I said to her seriously.

"I'm not playing games…I was happily having a gym sesh until you showed up!" She stormed out.

"Can we just talk about what happened last night?" I followed her. She continued ignoring me before rolling her eyes and jogging off. Fucking hell, she was starting to piss me off! The day continued on with work and Charlie ignoring me or avoiding me if we ran into each other. She even cancelled her order at the diner as soon as I walked in! The night shift at Angelo's was pretty quite so I decided to close a little early and head home, but not before I stopped in at Charlie's! I was so sick of her ignoring me. I needed to talk about what happened last night. I quickly ran to the front door of her house and knocked on the door hard. "Hey Brax…" Bianca opened the door before I cut her off.

"I need to talk to you!" I stormed in and pointed at Charlie as April and Ruby looked at me wide eyed.

"Can this wait til tomorrow?" She also looked at me in shock before walking into her room.

"No Charlie we need to talk about this now" I followed her.

"Fine…let's go for a drive!" She grabbed a cardigan and walked out with me hot on her trail. We drove in silence until we finally got to the lighthouse and I stopped the car.

"What happened last night Charlie?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Nothing happened Brax…I was just messing about…'Playing games' as you put it. I just wanted to see how far I could push your buttons." She yelled.

"Nothing…well it didn't feel like nothing to me!" I grabbed her chin and made her look at me. "Look into my eyes and tell me you don't feel this connection between us" I stared into her amazing eyes. She shook her head before attaching her lips to mine and kissing me passionately. Our tongues fought for dominance as she quickly got out of her seat and crawled over so she was straddling my lap.

"Make sure the hand break is on" She mumbled against my lips as the kiss got deeper and deeper until eventually my hand had wandered up the front of her shirt and was massaging one of her breasts. She broke away and looked at me wide eyed before noticing my hand and bursting into laughter. I pulled away quickly and smiled.

"What?" I asked with a chuckle. Her smile faded as she placed her lips against my ear.

"Brax as long as I'm a cop in this town nothing will be happening between us so just hold onto that little boob fondle you just got, cause it's the last you'll get." She said seriously before pulling away and looking into my eyes seriously.

"Not if I have anything to do about it" My hand shot up her shirt again.

"Brax, seriously stop! I was messing with you and just like every other man, you took the bait! Now can you take me home please!" She pushed my hand away before sitting back in her seat.

"Fine" I snapped back before putting my seatbelt on and speeding off angrily.


	17. Chapter 17: Too close for comfort

**Hello! I tell you what after you read this chapter you are all going to hate me...or Charlie...up to you guys haha! I would love to add a huge bit of sauce now, but its coming soon...I PROMISE! Anywho's, thanks for all the reviews and comments, keep your ideas coming =)**

**Enjoy xo**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17<strong>

Charlie's Point of view

It had been a week since Heath had been arrested and a court date had been set, along with a fancy lawyer arriving in town to represent him; Hayley O'Conner. I had met her in the city a while back when she was only an intern, but now she was a hotshot lawyer who had her eyes on only 2 things; getting Heath off charges and Brax. Bianca and I decided it would be nice to take April and Ruby out to dinner without their boyfriends as distractions. As soon as we walked in Brax and Heath were standing at the bar, along with Hayley, wearing a short blue dress. I rolled my eyes before sitting down at a table. A waiter soon brought us menus and soon enough Brax was taking over our table. "So can I get you ladies anything to drink?" He asked with a smirk, his eyes not leaving mine for a second.

"I'll get a glass of the Chardonnay" I broke away from his stare and looked down at my menu.

"Make that a bottle" Bianca continued as she stared at Heath who was having a laugh with Hayley.

"And we'll both get an orange juice" April smiled, ordering for both her and Ruby. Brax continued smirking at me before walking away.

"Gosh that man gets on my nerves!" I hissed as soon as he was out of ear reach.

"Well he hasn't taken his eyes off you, the entire time we've been here" Ruby commented, smiling.

"Shut up!" I laughed.

"Yeah and that Lawyer hasn't taken her eyes off the both of them!" Bianca scoffed, glaring at her.

"Someone seems jealous" April replied with a smirk.

"Am not! Heath's a good for nothing, drug…oh who am I kidding, he's gorgeous!" She gave in. We all laughed as Brax came back with the juices and the wine.

"Thanks" I continued looking at the menu.

"Are you all ready to order?" He asked. Ruby and April both nodded and told him their order before Bianca and I decided on ours. I watched as Brax walked back to the bar, my eyes set on his perfect backside. He got behind the bar and seen me staring before smirking. I quickly snapped my eyes away, feeling my cheeks blushing. Soon enough Bianca and I were onto our second bottle of wine and dinner had been served.

"So how's Casey doing?" I asked my younger sister as we ate.

"Alright I suppose. Him and Brax said that my surfing is improving" She laughed. After a lot of conversation between all of us Casey walked in noticing Ruby.

"Hey" She stood up and kissed him.

"I was just going home to watch some movies if you wanted to come?" He asked.

"Charlie, I'm going to head off with Casey…I'll see you later" Ruby kissed my cheek.

"So much for our girls night!" I scoffed as she left. I watched as April looked at her phone.

"Actually I was going to ask if I could take the car and go to Dex's place?" April looked at Bianca.

"Fine! Go ahead! Drive safe please!" Bianca took another gulp of wine before waving goodbye to April. "Opps…sign I've had a little too much to drink…I'm just going to duck to the loo then we can walk home yeah" Bianca got up and walked towards to toilets. I watched as Hayley eventually got up and left, kissing Brax on the cheek on her way out. I looked at Brax standing behind the bar before noticing his eyes on me. He walked over and sat across from me smiling.

"Girls night huh? Too bad you're all alone now ay" He chuckled.

"Bianca's just gone to the bathroom" I stated, running my finger along the edge of my wine glass.

"I wouldn't speak too soon" He nodded up at Bianca and Heath talking by the stairs. I looked at Bianca before she mouthed 'Sorry' to me before winking and taking Heath's hand, walking down the stairs together.

"Well I don't want to know what they're doing" I rolled my eyes and standing up myself. "Can I grab the bill please" I asked Brax, before looking around the empty restaurant. He walked around the bar before handing me the receipt. "And of course they leave me with an expensive bill" I shook my head, reaching into my handbag, pulling out the money to give Brax. His hand touched mine briefly before I pulled away. "Keep the change" I walked off.

"Wait Charlie…are you planning on walking home? Because I can give you a lift if you want" Brax stopped me.

"No, its fine" I headed down the stairs and out of the surf club. As soon as I got outside I noticed the full moon, highlighting the beach and the tide coming in beautifully. I smiled before taking my heels off and walking down to sit on the empty beach. Summer Bay was honestly such a beautiful town, too bad I was here to arrest some of the not so beautiful people. After a while I headed back up to the surf club, only to find Brax locking up and heading towards his car.

"What are you still doing here? Waiting for me ay?" He chuckled.

"Oh don't flatter yourself" I rolled my eyes. "No, I was just thinking how gorgeous the moon looked across the beach" I smiled, looking out towards it again.

"Yeah, its definitely something you don't see every day" He nodded. I watched his blue green eyes twinkle in the moonlight before shaking my head and walking off. "Hey wait…Charlie, just let me give you a lift home. A young girl like you shouldn't be walking home by herself at this time of night" Brax followed me.

"Brax I'll be fine" I rolled my eyes.

"Charlie its cold, now will you get in the god damn car!" He snapped, opening the passenger door of his black ute for me.

"Fine" I gave in. The drive home was silent and awkward seeing as the last time I was in this car Brax and I had started off making out then ended up snapping at each other and not talking since. He parked out the front of his house and we both got out.

"Do you want me to walk you to the door?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sure I'll be fine" I chuckled.

"You never know…some criminal might be hiding in the bushes, ready to jump you" He laughed, following me to the front door.

"What like your brother? Somehow I think he's a little busy with Bianca at the moment" I shook my head as I got out my keys.

"That's a bit harsh Charlie" He started to walk back.

"Brax wait…I'm sorry" I stopped him. That was a bit harsh, but it was true. "Do you want to come in for…a coffee or tea or something?" I tried to act nice in front of the guy.

"You're inviting me in for tea or coffee?" He scoffed.

"First and last time!" I smirked, opening the door to my empty house and letting him in.

"That's what you said about the kiss and the boob fondle if I recall…but we both know that wasn't true" He smirked back. He knew he had hit a nerve.

"They meant nothing to me! What about you and that lawyer…you two seem a little too cosy" I stated.

"Why…are you jealous Charlie?" He asked, walking closer to me, backing me up towards the bench.

"No…No, why would I be?" I stuttered. He just smiled before closing in on me, placing a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Maybe you should go" I breathed out, getting that familiar pounding in my chest when ever he was this close to me.

"Maybe I should, but you don't want me to" He whispered, looking straight into my eyes, hypnotising me. And that's when I pounced. We were all over each other, his tongue halfway down my throat as my hands weaved through his hair, pulling me closer to him. He lifted me up onto the bench before I wrapped my legs around his waist. His lips moved towards my neck as I moaned. He picked me up off the bench and dropped me down on the sofa before leaning over me. Our lips found each other again before I palmed his clothed chest, desperately wanting his shirt off.

"I'll see you tomorrow yeah?" a familiar voice brought me back to reality as I heard my sister on the front porch.

"Quick…in my room, now!" I pushed Brax off me and watched as he ran into my bedroom.

"Oh hey Charlie...Bianca and April in bed?" Ruby asked as she walked in, just as Brax closed my bedroom door.

"Nah, Bianca left with Heath and April went to visit Dex" I nodded.

"You look flushed…whats up?" She asked, getting herself a glass of water from the kitchen.

"Oh, I decided to jog home…beautiful night for it" I smiled quickly.

"Yeah it is…well I'm off to bed. See you in the morning, love you" Ruby walked up the hallway and into her room.

"Yeah love you too!" I rushed into my own room as soon as I heard her bedroom door shut.

"Nearly busted" Brax chuckled as I found him sitting on my bed.

"You need to go before anyone else see's you!" I pointed to the door.

"Don't you want to finish what we started?" He smirked, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"No!" I pulled away from him. "Just go!" I sighed.

Brax's point of view

I watched as she paced the room. If she kept thinking we were a huge mistake, why did she keep practically making out with me every chance she could? "Fine!" I snapped before leaving her room and walking out the front door. She really gave me the shits sometimes!

"Bro…what were you doing in there?" a voice scared me as I closed the front door behind me.

"Shit!" I jumped noticing Casey standing there.

"I ah…I was just dropping Charlie home" I nodded as we walked back home together.

"Well her lip gloss on your face proves otherwise" He chuckled. I quickly wiped my face and looked at him.

"Its Hayley's" I tried to convince him.

"Oh I'm sure it is" He chuckled. I quickly pushed him up against my car and glared at him.

"Its Hayley's ok…now this conversation and what you seen tonight, never happened…got it?" I snapped.

"Ok man! Let me go!" he replied. I quickly let go of him and watched as he ran inside the house. Charlie was going to kill me!


	18. Chapter 18: If this is love

**Sorry only a short chapter! I wanted to put in a casey/ruby chapter seeing as this is a ruby fic as well =)**  
><strong>Personally at the moment I'm shipping Casey and Sasha, but for this fic I'll stick with what was going on when I started writing it haha!<strong>  
><strong>Thanks for all the reviews and comments =)<strong>

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 18<span>**

Casey's point of view

Brax and Charlie? No way was that happening? Charlie was uptight about Ruby and I dating, so I don't think she would allow herself and Brax to date! I was walking out the door to head to school one morning when I noticed Ruby and April leaving the house also. "Hey Case…wanna walk with us? We're meeting Dex at the diner" Ruby asked as I walked over.

"Yeah sure" I smiled, wrapping an arm around Ruby's waist as we walked. We soon got to the beach and met up with Dex before I noticed my dimwit older brother hanging out with his River Boy mates.

"Hey Casey" Heath called out to me. I rolled my eyes.

"We're going to go order some breakfast…I'll meet you up there" Ruby noticed Heath and smiled at me before kissing me. I nodded and watched her walk up with April and Dex.

"What do you want?" I asked Heath.

"Still seeing the copper's sister…she as much as a pig as Charlie?" Heath chuckled.

"Shut ya mouth!" I pushed him.

"Ahhh I see little Casey Wasey has grown some balls…bout time sweetheart" He laughed before pushing me back. "Look can you do me a favour? I need you to deliver this to a bloke waiting outside the diner" He tried to hand me a package. "I promised the goods and with the cops sniffing around me all the time if they seen me I'm dead meat" Heath explained, shoving the package in my hand discreetly. I shoved back before glared at him.

"I'm not doing your dirty work! You got yourself in this mess! Count yourself lucky I'm not going to tell Brax tis…because then you'd be in an even bigger mess!" I stated.

"And you'd be a dog of a brother! What you scared of what your little piglet girlfriend might think?" Heath smirked.

"No, I'm just not a stupid dick like you!" I pushed him before walking off. I noticed Ruby standing up the top of the beach looking down at Heath and I.

"What was all that about?" She asked worriedly as I caught up to her.

"Nothing that concerns you" I smiled as we walked towards the diner.

"You sure?" She asked.

"I'm positive. Hey Rubes…I was thinking…tonight I have the house to myself, do you wanna come over and…watch movies or something?" I asked her carefully. I felt like we were ready to go to the next level of our relationship and I was pretty sure I was falling in love with this girl.

"I would love to come cover and watch movie…or something" She grinned before snaking her arms around my neck and kissing me gently. Despite what had happened, I could tell today was going to be a good day.

_That evening._

Ruby's point of view

After seeing Charlie off to her night shift I waited until Bianca and April had gone to bed before sneaking into next door. I knocked on their front door before Casey opened it smiling. "Hey" He grinned letting me in. I kissed his cheek before walking into the living room. "Sooo…movies?" He nodded at the dvd stand. I smiled and nodded also before walking towards him, snaking my arms around his neck and looking into his eyes.

"You wanna just skip the movies?" I asked, noticing his perfect pink lips, just dying to be kissed feverishly.

"Yep!" He picked me up in one scoop and took me to his bedroom. We made out of the bed for a while before stopping and looking at each other. "I've got something to confess…I've never done this before" He bowed his head.

"Neither have I" I smiled softly, pulling his chin up so he was looking at me. He smiled before kissing my lips gently.

"I think I love you Ruby" He smiled. I could feel my heart pounding so loudly at his words.

"Aww…that's so sweet….I think I love you too" I giggled before kissing him. Casey was honestly the sweetest guy I'd met and I was so glad I was doing this with him and not some stuck up snobby guy in the city.


	19. Chapter 19: Hot and cold

**So I was contemplating changing the rating of this fic just for this chapter but I don't think its as risque as other stuff I have read on here. So here goes. I hope you like it. Thanks for all the previous comments and reviews. **

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 19<strong>

Charlie's Point of View

I got home from my night shift and went straight to bed, only to wake up in the morning to find Ruby wasn't in her bed. Her bed hadn't even been slept in! There was only one place she could be…

"Where is she?" I stormed into the Braxton house as soon as a shirtless, boxer brief wearing Brax opened the door.

"Ruby? I don't know" Brax sighed, wiping sleep out of his eyes.

"He didn't know I was here" Ruby and Casey walked out of Casey's room, hand in hand.

"Sorry, we fell asleep…talking" Casey looked at Brax who was just as angry as I was.

"Casey you can't just hide Ruby in your room without telling anyone!" Brax shook his head. "I want no more sneaking around from you two!" He said sternly. "And Ruby, next time tell your sister that you're here!"

"Actually Ruby don't even bother because you are not staying the night here again! I will not tolerate you going behind my back" I replied angrily.

"Oh that's rich coming from you two!" Casey chuckled before looking at Brax and I seriously. "I seen Brax sneaking out of your house just the other day, lipstick all over his face…so don't talk to us about sneaking around!" He spat at me. I lunged myself towards him before I felt a strong set of arms pull me back. Brax had picked me up as I struggled.

"PUT ME DOWN!" I screamed.

"Charlie, you try to touch my brother again and I will do every thing I can to ruin your career…got it" He told me as I thrashed in his arms. "You two should go…I'm going to talk to your sister" Brax explained to Ruby before throwing me over his shoulder and taking me to his bedroom. He threw me on the bed and looked down on me. "What the fuck was all that about?" He yelled. I sat up and looked into my lap.

"Oh god…I nearly tried to fight a 17 year old boy…what is wrong with me?" I realised what I had done. I very rarely got angry, but this had gotten the better of me. "Do…do you reckon they… 'slept' together last night?" I asked Brax as he got out a pair of jeans from his wardrobe.

"Well duh…why else would a guy have an attractive girl in his room?" He chuckled.

"Oh I don't know, maybe he was saving her from nearly killing a teenage boy in her angry rage" I chuckled back. "I'm sorry…I just lost it after he said that! Did he see you leaving my place?" I asked.

"Yeah…I told him I dropped you home and the lipstick was from Hayley but he obviously didn't believe me" Brax revealed.

"Oh god…Ruby is never going to talk to me again" I placed my head in my hands.

"Charlie, honestly she'll get over it…its not like we're sleeping together. We've just made out…a few times" He smirked.

"Its more than a few times…its practically every time I see you" I sighed before realising who I was talking to. "Shit" I squeaked, covering my mouth. Brax chuckled before walking over to me.

"Well not every single time" He smirked and leant down to me, pushing me back in the bed and crawling on top of me. I backed myself away from him as he came closer and closer until his lips were touching mine, ever so gently. The kiss deepened as one hands was holding him above me and the other was placed on my cheek. My arms snaked around his neck as I felt his tongue in my mouth. This was honestly the most passionate kiss I had ever had and I was enjoyed every minute of it. We got wrapped up in the moment as Brax's hands moved towards my shorts, undoing them and trying to pull them down. I helped him out a little before having to break away for a moment to take my shirt off. "God you have an amazing body" He placed kisses on my neck before moving back to my lips.

"Uhuh" I mumbled, pressing my hips against him, wanting to feel him. "Mmmm" I groaned into the kiss before Brax broke away and reached over to his bedside table, getting out a little foil packet. "Good idea" I smirked, watching him pull down his boxer briefs and slip on protection. I'd seen his manhood before but when it was in all its glory, it was intimidating to say the least. His hand slipped between my legs before I broke away from the kiss and threw my head back. "Oh god" I cried out.

"Fuck Charlie…you haven't been laid in a while" He chuckled before pulling my panties to the side and getting ready to…

**RING** **RING** **RING**

Brax phone started blaring a ringtone on his bedside table. He stopped what he was doing and sighed before grabbing it. "Heath, what the fuck do you want?" He yelled into the phone.

Brax's point of view

"We need you to come to the shed in the national park…we've got a problem. I think Jake Pirovic stole some of our supplies" He said. I looked down at Charlie before hopping off her, pulling up my underwear and getting out of bed.

"Well why do you need me then?" I asked, wanting to get back to Charlie. She was smirking as she could see how desperate I wanted her as to the way I was fixing up my underwear.

"Well we need a plan…we're all rubbish at that type of shit. We need a way to get back at him" Heath explained. I groaned. If only he knew there was a cop in my room right now.

"Heath I'm a bit busy right now…"

"You've got a chick waiting in your bed don't ya?" Heath chuckled. My brother knew me too well.

"Yes, yes I do" I smiled, looking at Charlie who was a tad confused.

"Well mate, there are plenty of hot fish left in the sea…will you please come and help out!" Heath replied sternly.

"Fine…I'll be there in half an hour" I groaned before hanging up on him. I looked at Charlie in just her bra and underwear before sighed. "I have to go…Heath needs a hand at the restaurant" I pulled on my jeans quickly.

"So you have me in your bed half naked, about to have sex and you have to go…This is a once in a lifetime chance Braxton…this, me, you, bed…never going to happen again, understand?" Charlie explained before hopping out of bed.

"I'm sorry…but I got to make a living" I sighed.

"And here I was breaking all the rules for you" She shook her head annoyed before putting her shorts back on.

"Charlie you have to remember that you have been hot and cold on me for weeks now! You finally make up your mind and I bail…now you know how I feel every time we get so close to what we both want and then you back off and go all police officer on me!" I snapped at her before putting on a shirt, grabbing my phone and car keys and going to leave. "Shut the door on your way out!" I looked at her and stormed out.

Charlie's Point of View

That son of a bitch! I quickly put on my shirt and followed him out before watching him get into his black ute and speed off. Hold on…if he was going to the restaurant, why was he driving in the opposite direction? I quickly got out my phone.

"Watson…its Buckton. I want you to follow Darryl Braxton's ute. He was looking rather suspicious when he left his house only a few minutes ago…I think he might be going to the national park" I called into work. If he was going to the national park, this would be the best time to catch him in the act.


	20. Chapter 20: Truth revealed

**HELLO! A new...short chapter for you all! I'll probably post another chapter tomorrow though =)**  
><strong>Thanks for all the reviews and comments!<strong>

**Enjoy xo**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 20<strong>

Brax's Point of view

As I drove down Wilson's road towards the national park I noticed a car following me. It was a bright blue ford and looked rather familiar. I closed in on the national park before realising where I had seen that car before. It had been outside the police station when I went to bail Heath out a few weeks ago! It must have been a unmarked cop car! I quickly pulled over and got my phone out before watching the car back off a bit. "Heath, its me! Get out of there now, the cops are following me. I'm going to head to Angelo's, you all need to get out the back way NOW!" I yelled at my younger brother before hanging up and doing a u-turn. I passed the cop and gave them a smirk before driving off back into the bay and off to Angelo's. Charlie, that sneaky bitch! Wouldn't put it past her to get her copper friends to follow me! Soon enough Heath and the boys had arrived at Angelo's fuming!

"What the hell was that all about?" Heath yelled at me.

"I had an unmarked cop car following me…I would have led them straight to you" I replied, handing them a beer each.

"Who spilled?" Heath asked.

"I have a feeling it was that copper bitch next door. I seen her out the front as I left" I mumbled, taking a sip of beer myself.

"Well I'll sort out Buckton and you sort out Jake!" Heath replied.

"No, leave Buckton to me…you're in enough trouble with her as it is" I grabbed my car keys before storming off. I got home and raced over to Charlie's house only for her to open the front door in surprise.

"Um…what are you doing here?" She asked confused.

"Well I was just driving to Yabbie Creek to go get a few things off a supplier before I realised I left my cheque book at the restaurant. So anyway I turned around to head back and who do I see but two of your piggy mates following me ay! Care to explain why you had me followed Charlie?" I asked, pushing open the front door and walking into the living room.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" She shook her head.

"Bull shit!" I yelled.

"Ok then fine! I had you followed because I thought you were going to the national park! Brax the only reason I was brought into this town was to bring you down and that's what I intend to do!" She yelled back.

"Wow…so the truth comes out. So you've been playing me along so you could, what, get close to me then screw me over! I don't even know why I ever thought I had a chance with you. You're just a user ay" I threw back at her.

"Oh that's rich coming from you! This was never going to work Brax. We're from two different worlds! You try to prevent the cause of justice while I'm here forever trying to prevail it…but you're always two steps ahead…you have been since I got here, but not for long. I know you're weakness and I know how you work and I'll be waiting, just you see!" She hissed as she walked closer to me.

"And what's my weakness Charlie? Seeing you know so much about me ay" I chuckled at her know it all arrogant attitude.

"Me" She smirked as she whispered in my ear, pulling away to watch my reaction. I shook my head before laughing.

"What ever you think Charlie" I laughed, heading back towards the ute. Shit, she'd got me!


	21. Chapter 21: Trusting in each other

**Ok really long chapter I got going here. I was thinking of splitting it but what the hell, more for you guys to read =)**  
><strong>So anywho's thanks for all the comments and reviews!<strong>

**Enjoy xo**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21<strong>

_A week later_

Charlie's Point of View

Ruby was rarely home for us to talk about what happened at Casey's and what Casey had said about Brax, which meant we were barely talking at all. Bianca had decided to cook us an Italian dish for dinner in which she demanded Ruby stay home. We all sat silently at the dinner table eating. "This is really good Bianca, thank you for cooking. Ruby and I will do the washing up" I suggested. Ruby looked at me before rolling her eyes.

"I was planning to go to Casey's after dinner" Ruby mumbled.

"Well I think its fair seeing as Bianca cooked for us, we should do the washing up" I tried not to raise my voice.

"What ever Charlie!" Ruby got up and stormed into her bedroom. I sighed before looking at Bianca and April sadly.

"I'm so sorry. Excuse me for just a moment" I stood up and walked into the hallway and knocked on Ruby's door. "Ruby I think we need to talk about what happened last week" I said quietly as I walked in and seen her lying on her bed. I sat down and looked at her.

"Talk about what? Talk about how you are sleeping with my boyfriends older brother, yet don't want me to sleep with my boyfriend?" She snapped at me.

"Firstly I'm not sleeping with anyone!" I told her calmly. "And secondly I was worried when I woke up and you weren't in your room…I started to freak out and I am sorry!" I explained to her.

"Well then why did Casey say he seen Brax leave our house with lipstick on his face?" Ruby asked confused.

"I'm not going to lie to you…we kissed, but it was nothing. Do you really think that I of all people would get involved with a River Boy?" I chuckled to my sister.

"That's true I suppose" Ruby laughed as well as she sat up.

"I just want you to be careful Ruby. I'm ok with you and Casey…" I was trying to explain this carefully.

"having sex?" Ruby came straight out with it.

"Um yeah…Its just that you're my little sister so I want you to be careful…if you ever need me to buy you protection or anything then just say so" I explained to her.

"Charlie…if you are trying to have the sex talk with me just don't bother…they teach us all this in school now" She laughed. I chuckled before pulling her into a hug.

"We all good?" I asked.

"Yep…we're all good. Um would it be alright if Casey stayed here tomorrow night? I promise just sleeping and watching movies…nothing more!" Ruby justified herself.

"If its fine with Brax then its fine with me" I smiled.

_The next day._

We'd got a call in anonymously that there was a fight going on at the beach between the River Boys and a rival gang. Watson, I and a few other officers quickly headed down to break up the fight. We arrived only to find Brax bashing a guys head in on the sand as blood dripped from his nose. "OI BREAK IT UP!" I yelled as I pulled Brax off this other guy. I felt him push me to the ground before turning around and noticing it was me.

"A woman copper…what a joke!" The other guy spat at me. Brax shook his head and helped me up before punching the guy square in the jaw. One of the male officers grabbed the other guy and arrested him while I dealt with Brax.

"What was all that about?" I asked Brax I pushed him against the police car and cuffed him.

"You asking as a copper or as something else?" He replied.

"What do you think?" I put him in the car and we all drove off to the station. Once again we had all the river boys in one cells and all the members of the rival gang in another cell before we started interviewing each one. "So Mr Braxton care to explain what happened on the beach?" I asked Brax as we sat in the interview room along with another officer. Brax's nose had dried up but he had a nasty bruise and lump on his forehead.

"Nup…nothing happen. Just got into a bit of a blue" He smirked and replied. I shook my head and looked at him.

"So no reason why you guys started fighting?" I asked. He shook his head. "That will be all Mr Braxton. Officer Stevenson will take you back to the cell" I stood up and left. 2 hours and many more gang members later we had managed to interview all of the people we had picked up including a bloke by the name of Jake Pirovic and his little brother Harmen. They looked like tough blokes and I could see why there would be rivalry between their crew and the river boys. Every single person we interview had the same story and didn't want to press charges on anyone, which meant we had to let them go. I watched as both the Pirovic boys smirked at me as they left.

"We're never going to get them for anything!" Watson groaned after they left.

"Its because they don't trust us…but then again we don't trust them" I replied, staring at Brax as he walked out the door. I soon headed home only to find Ruby and Casey home and watching a movie. "Hey guys" I commented as I walked in. Casey looked at me awkwardly. "Um Casey…I just wanted to apologise for what happened last week" I nodded at the teenager.

"Its cool Charlie" He smiled. "I'm sorry too…I shouldn't have said what I did" He replied. I smiled back before walking into the kitchen.

"What do you guys want for dinner?" I asked, looking through cupboards.

"Brax said pizza is on him" Casey chuckled.

"Oh did I hear free pizza?" Bianca walked out from her room. "I've got a heap of marking to do tonight and April is staying at Dex's, so pizza would be great!" Bianca smiled before pouring herself and myself a glass of wine before retreating back into her room. I got changed out of my uniform before heading back out and drinking my wine.

"Hey Casey…I don't mean to pry or anything but what do you know about the Pirovic's?" I asked curiously.

"Um…not much really. Brax doesn't really involve me in River Boy stuff, but I do know that both Brax and Heath hate them. Brax told me about the fight today. He didn't look so good when he got home. I think that bump on the head really did some damage" Casey sounded concerned.

"He was fine at the station…did he go to a doctor?" I asked also concerned.

"Nah he said he could handle it" Casey brushed it off and continued watching the movie.

"I might go for a walk down to the beach…I'll be back later" I slipt on some sandals and headed out the door. I couldn't help myself. I had to check if Brax was ok. I know he wasn't in my good books at the moment but I still felt like it was my duty as a police officer to check if he was all right. I quickly headed next door and knocked on the front door. After a few moments and no answer I opened the door slowly only to find Brax standing there ready to open the door. He had an ice pack on his head and a glass of what looked like bourbon in his hand.

"What do you want?" He muttered.

"I came to check if you were ok" I walked closer and took the ice pack from his head to assess the damage. "Brax you need to see a doctor!" I looked at him.

"I'm fine Charlie" he mumbled pushing me away.

"No, you're not. Is Heath here…I want him to take you to see a doctor!" I grabbed his cheeks in my hands and made him look at me.

"No one is home and I don't want to see some fucking doctor" He sculled down his drink before slamming the glass on the table.

"Fine, if you're not going to see a doctor, at least go to bed and get some rest" I sighed.

"Only if you join me" A small smile appeared on his face.

"You're clearly delusional if you want me in your bed" I chuckled back; helping him into his room and watching him get into bed. "I'm going to go get you some painkillers" I walking into the bathroom and started looking through the cupboards.

"You're not going to find any in there" Brax's arm suddenly wrapped around my waist and pulled me out of the bathroom. "Kitchen" He made me lead him into the kitchen. "Top cupboard above fridge" He leant against the bench in what looked like pain.

"Get back into bed!" I pointed towards the bedroom before watching him grab his bottle of bourbon and slump away. I grabbed some painkillers and a glass of water and headed back into the bedroom only to find Brax taking off his shirt and jeans and hopping into bed. "I don't think this will help you" I took the bottle of bourbon off the bedroom table and gave him the pills and water. "Take these and rest…I'll try find Heath to come and watch you" I told him, not wanting him to be alone.

"Stuff Heath…he would have no idea of what to do and you are much more attractive" Brax chuckled. I rolled my eyes before looking at him.

"Fine…I'll just let Ruby and Casey know I'm here" I sighed before headed back home.

"Um, guys…I've just popped into see Brax and he's not too well so I'm just going to stay with him for a while cause he doesn't want to see a doctor" I told Ruby and Casey who looked at me confused.

"Is he alright though?" Casey stood up.

"Yeah he'll be fine…he just needs to chill out for a bit" I smiled.

"And you're sure nothing is going on between you two?" Ruby asked with a small smile.

"Oh I'm positive…I'm just being neighbourly" I chuckled before walking out. I walked back into the bedroom only to find Brax pouring himself a glass of bourbon. "Hey, bourbon, me now!" I glared at him. He smirked before sculling the glass down and passing me the bottle. "Thank you!" I snapped. "I really think you should go see a Doctor" I gently placed my fingers over the bump. He flinched a little at my touch.

"Charlie I'll be fine" He looked into my eyes. "Why did you come over here anyway?" He asked, sitting back against his pillow.

"Casey said you didn't look so good and I thought I'd come to make sure you were ok" I sat on the edge of the bed and looked into my lap.

"So you do have a heart in there ay" He chuckled. I looked at him before smiling.

"Just get some rest" I whispered before standing up and walking over to the armchair in the corner of the room.

"Tegan…Tegan…somebody help me! Tegan!" I got woken up suddenly to a voice yelling. I got up and seen Brax thrashing around in his bed wailing. He must have been having a nightmare.

"Brax…Brax" I stood over him and grabbed both his arms, shaking him. "Brax…wake up!" I said sternly. He kept thrashing around. "Brax…wake…up!" I got on top of him to keep his legs down. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at me.

"What…what's going on?" He asked, sitting up with me still on his lap.

"You…you must have had a nightmare. Who's Tegan? You were yelling her name." I was now confronted, my face centimetres away from his.

"No one…doesn't matter" he broke eye contact with me.

I placed my hands on his cheeks and looked him up and down. "You're sweating…are you alright?" I asked, placing a hand on his forehead to see if he had a fever.

"No…I'm fine. What are you still doing here?" He asked.

"I must have fallen asleep…I'll go if you want" I got off him.

"No…Charlie it's the middle of the night. Stay" He patted the empty space beside him. I looked at him and smiled before taking off my skirt hesitantly and hopping into bed next to him. "Thanks for everything" He smirked, looking into my eyes.

"No problem" I pulled the blankets up over my torso before feeling Brax's arms snake around my waist and pull me close to him. "Brax" I chuckled as he moved his head into the crook of my neck. I could feel his lips on my neck, making their way up my jaw line. "Brax…I'm serious" I sighed before his lips were upon mine and his hands were on my cheeks.


	22. Chapter 22: Minding your own business

**New chapter =D**  
><strong>Thanks for all the reviews and comments!<strong>

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 22<strong>

Charlie's Point of View

I woke up to the light pouring through the window of Brax's bedroom before noticing his arms wrapped around me. I had managed to keep our escapade that night to just kissing but from what I could feel against my body, Brax wanted more. I tried to free myself from his hold without waking him. "You trying to escape are you" He breathed down my neck, scaring me.

"I have to go Brax" I chuckled, moving his arms off me. I rolled on my back and looked at him before sighing. "You know we can't do this" I shook my head.

"Yep…I've heard it all before from you" He nodded. I got out of bed and put my skirt back on before looking at him. I could tell he was pissed off.

"I'm sorry" I jumped back on the bed and kissed his lips lightly before hopping off and out the door. I quickly headed home and into my bed before anyone realised that I didn't come home last night. I heard Casey and Ruby in the living room before getting up and getting changed into some pyjamas before heading out. "Morning guys" I watched as Casey made his way around our kitchen.

"Casey's making us breakfast" Ruby sounded impressed as she handed me a mug of coffee.

"Thank you" I mumbled.

"So what time did you get home last night?" Ruby asked.

"Um late…I tried to convince Brax to go to the doctor but your brother is one stubborn man" I chuckled towards Casey.

"Yeah tell me about it" He rolled his eyes as he cracked a few eggs into a bowl.

"Hey Casey…you would happen to know who Tegan is?" I asked curiously as that name played on my mind.

"Um she was a girlfriend of Brax's…they went out for a really long time. I always thought Brax and her would get married but her and her daughter got into a car accident last year and she didn't make it. Brax still sees Darcy…her daughter" Casey nodded. I nodded and sipped on my coffee. "Why do you ask?" Casey continued.

"Oh um…just something Brax was mumbling about…he was pretty out of it last night" I nodded.

"Oh ok" Casey looked at me weirdly before continuing to cook.

"Knock, Knock" a voice brought my eyes towards the door and Brax walking in.

"Oh my god! Charlie was right, you should have gone to a doctor!" Ruby exclaimed when she seen the bump on his head.

"I'm just going to have a shower" I brushed past him.

"Actually Charlie I just wanted to say thanks for last night" He nodded in front of Casey and Ruby.

"No worries" I nodded before rushing into my bedroom. I flopped on the bed and sighed. Honestly what was I doing? I listened and waited until Brax left before getting my clothes and getting ready to walk out to the bathroom before hearing a tap at the window and suddenly… "What are you doing?" I hissed as Brax made his way in through the window before looking at me and placing a hand on the back of my head, pulling me towards him. His lips massaged mine passionately as he moved us towards the bed. "Casey and Ruby are just outside" I mumbled against his lips as he hovered over me.

"I'm liking these silk pyjamas…although I'd rather them off you" He mumbled against my lips.

"Just stop it…please stop it. I told you I'm only here for one thing" I broke away and pushed him away. "I can't afford to do this" I pushed my hair back frustrated.

"Ok" he replied quietly. I rolled over and looked at him sadly.

"Casey told me about Tegan" I replied.

"Whats that got to do with anything?" He asked confused.

"Last night you were yelling her name in your sleep…asking for help" I revealed.

"Oh…well you shouldn't have asked Casey anything and he shouldn't have told you anything…its none of your business and you should learn to keep your nose out of my business!" He snapped before getting up and heading back out the window.


	23. Chapter 23: SURPRISE!

**Hello, Hello. I think you will all enjoy this chapter. If you can't tell, I actually wrote this when it was Charlie's Birthday on the show last year. Yes, that is how long this fan fiction has been in production. I think this was actually one of the first scenes I pictured in my head when thinking up this storyline so I just typed it out and saved it and went from there. Obviously it has had many tweaks, but all in all...it feels so good to finally have this chapter on display.**  
><strong>Thanks again for all the reviews and comments and even if you read and don't comment, I appreciate you taking the time to view my writing.<strong>

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 23<span>**

Brax's Point of View

I was setting up Angelo's for the day when Ruby came rushing in. "Hey Brax…I was wondering if you could do me a favour?" She walked up to the bar.

"Depends…what type of favour?" He asked.

"Well its Charlie's Birthday and I wanted to make a reservation"

"When for?" I asked getting out my book.

"Tonight" She looked at me guiltily.

"Tonight?" I exclaimed. Then it clicked. "You forgot your sisters birthday" I smirked at her.

"Shut up! Can you do anything tonight or not?" She chuckled.

"You are lucky I had a cancellation! How many people?" I asked.

"Oh…Um not sure" She replied.

"I'll book you in for 30…that should be enough. She doesn't have that many friends" I chuckled.

"Stop it! Oh and if you see Charlie don't say anything…I want to keep it a surprise, thanks." Ruby said as she went to leave.

Charlie's Point of View

I was taking a nice walk along the beach when Ruby walked down and joined me. "You having a good day so far?" She asked, linking her arm with mine.

"I am actually! Its very relaxing" I chuckled.

"Not feeling old yet?" Ruby laughed.

"Only a little bit" I laughed back.

"Ok well I'll gotta go do a little bit of study but I'll see you later…have a good day!" Ruby kissed my cheek before walking off. I walked up towards the surf club and got myself a juice before looking up the stairs towards Angelo's. I smiled to myself before heading up and finding an empty restaurant.

"Ah Hey" Brax gave me a small smile from behind the bar.

"Hi" I walked towards him. "You look really busy today" I nodded and looked around smiling.

"Yeah" He chuckled. "So I hear a Happy Birthday is in order ay?" He walked out from behind the bar and sat on a stool, offering me the other.

"Ruby" I rolled my eyes.

"Yep…the big 3 2 ay?" He smiled.

"You're making me feel old" I groaned, placing my juice on the bar.

"How about a drink on the house?" Brax suggested.

"Ahh no thanks" I refused politely. "Actually what I came here for was to apologise about Tegan…I didn't mean to put my head into your business and I shouldn't have asked Casey…I was just worried, that's all" I nodded.

"Charlie…its fine. Don't worry about it" He got up off the stool.

"Ok well…I'll see ya round then" I went to leave.

"Hey wait…I want to give you something…consider it a birthday present ay" He smirked at me as he walked closer to me. I looked at him confused before feeling his lips touch my cheek gently. He pulled away and stared into my eyes.

"Wow, you went all out with that one didn't ya" I chuckled. He smiled and shook his head, slightly embarrassed. "But thank you" I whispered before placing a gentle kiss on his lips and leaving.

Brax's Point of View

It was starting to head into the late afternoon and the restaurant was all set up for Charlie's surprise birthday party. Ruby and Casey had brought over some decorations and the place looked great. I knew Charlie would love it. Everyone had started to arrive during the early evening, including some coppers. "Ok Ruby just called, they'll be here in 5!" Casey walked in and told everyone. "Act casual guys" He chuckled before coming up to me. I could hear them all walking up the stairs before seeing her. Charlie looked absolutely amazing in the cream dress she was wearing, but at the same time I just wanted to rip it off her and stare at her amazing body. Dreams can happen right?

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled out. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!" we all continued. She looked around in shock before covering her mouth.

"You did this all for me?" She asked Ruby, Bianca and April.

"Well it was Ruby's idea" Bianca chuckled as Charlie hugged her.

"Thank you so much guys!" She was trying not to cry.

"Well we couldn't do it without Brax" Ruby nodded over towards me. Charlie smiled at me, before hugging Ruby again. Charlie was mingling around when I walked up to her.

"Champagne for the birthday girl?" I asked, scaring her slightly. She turned and looked at me before smiling and taking it off me.

"Thank you. I can't believe you knew about this and didn't tell me this when I came and seen you today!" She slapped my arm playfully.

"Ay, Ruby told me to keep it a surprise!" I chuckled back.

"I see…well I should go say hello to Colleen or I'll never hear the end of it" She rolled her eyes before walking away. After a few more drinks Charlie was dancing and having a good time. I wouldn't have thought Charlie was the type of person to let her hair down and have a bit of fun, but yet again she had proved me wrong. I soon brought out the birthday cake and placed it on the table in front of Charlie. Everyone sung her happy birthday and cheered.

"Make a wish Charlie!" Bianca giggled before Charlie looked towards me before looking back down at her cake and blowing out the candles. Soon enough the night was starting to end and everyone was starting to head home.

"Charlie we're going, you coming?" Ruby asked Charlie who was taking off her shoes.

"Um, no…I just want to talk to Mr Braxton" She gave Ruby a small smile before turning and staring at me.

"Brax, just don't give her anymore to drink" Ruby warned me before leaving with Bianca.

"Don't listen to Ruby…you can give me more to drink if you want to…and you want to, I can tell" Charlie grinned, walking towards the bar.

"I don't think you need anymore to drink" I gave her a small smile. "You have a good time tonight?" I asked, cleaning glasses.

"I did, I did…the food was good, the music was good and the service was pretty good too" She giggled, snaking her arms around my neck.

"What are you doing Charlie?" I shook my head and looked into her eyes.

"Well I was planning on kissing you, but if you don't want to then fine" She joked as she pulled away. I smirked before pulling her back to me and kissing her lips passionately, feeling her smile into the kiss. I could taste the alcohol on her and broke away.

"Look Charlie, you're drunk. Why don't you sit down and I'll get you a glass of water" I chuckled taking her hand.

"Where are we going?" She whispered. I sat her down in a booth before grabbing a glass of water for her. She took a sip before looking at me. "I'd prefer champagne thank you very much!" She handed it back to me. I shook my head.

"Well I refuse to serve you any alcohol Charlie…I want to clean this place up and go home" I groaned. I really didn't want to play games with her tonight.

"Oh come on Brax…one…more…drink" She stood up and placed kisses on my neck. I pulled away and looked into her glassy eyes.

"Nope…you'll thank me in the morning" I sat her back down and walked back over to the bar.

"Ok then fine…how about a dance? Think of it as your birthday present for me…cause we both know that you want to give me more than a dance" She smirked, seductively. I sighed before smirking back.

"Fine…one dance and then I'm taking you home" I sighed.

"YAY!" She ran over and jumped into my arms.

"I can't dance very well" I admitted as I lead her over to the small dance floor in the corner.

"That's alright" I could feel her grinding herself against me as she stared into my eyes with that knowing smile. I placed my hands on her hips and leant into her ear.

"You look good tonight" I whispered, placing a small kiss on her ear.

"I know" She pulled away and snaked her arms around my neck. "You've had your eyes on me all night" She continued. I laughed before pulling away.

"I've really gotta clean up this place…so why don't you sit down and sober up for a little bit and I'll drive you home" I nodded over to the booth.

"Fine" She groaned before sluggishly walking over to the booth and sitting down. 10 minutes later I was finished and Charlie hadn't stopped chatting away.

"Charlie, come on" I groaned, pulling her up before grabbing my keys, closing up and heading down to the car. She giggled the whole way down and as I put her into the car.

"You're so strong" She felt my arm muscles as I got into the car also and started driving.

"I've never thought for once I'd be driving you home when you're drunk" I chuckled at her.

"I don't get to get drunk very often. But its my birthday so why not." She sighed. "I can't go home Brax…If Ruby catches me, I'll be mortified" She groaned as I parked in my driveway.

"Well do you want me to look after you?" I asked, stroking her cheek gently.

"Sure" she giggled, opening the car door before practically falling out.

"Shit" I commented, quickly rushing to her side and picking her up, giggling. I noticed the small graze on her forehead. "You need to be quiet" I whispered, taking her to my front door.

"I am being quiet" She continued giggling before kissing my cheek. I took her into the bathroom and sat her on the basin as I got out a first aid kit. She leant back on the mirror and smiled as I got out some antiseptic and a few cotton balls. I dabbed the graze before watching her squirm.

"Sorry" I whispered, cleaning it up before drying it.

"That's alright…your bedside manner is excellent Dr Brax…I'd like to see what your bed manner is like" She smirked, wrapping her arms around my neck. I couldn't help but laugh and look into her gorgeous eyes. If she wasn't so wasted I would just kiss her, but she was and it ruined everything. Suddenly she pounced on me, attaching her lips to mine and wrapping her legs around my waist.

"Charlie…Charlie…stop!" I mumbled before pulling away.

"But…but I thought you wanted me?" She giggled, stroking my cheek.

"I do…but not when you're like this" I chuckled back before picking her up. "Come on Charlie" I walked her inside to my bedroom, closing the door behind me. I tried to sit her on the bed, but she ended pulling me on top of her and laughing.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't a cop" She sighed as we looked at each other.

"Sometimes I wish you weren't a cop either, but you look sexy in that uniform" I chuckled, unwrapping her arms from me and hopping off the bed. She laughed before looking at me.

"Where are you going to sleep?" She asked.

"Probably on the lounge or something…or in Casey's room, I think he's over at your house tonight" I thought back to what he told me.

"Probably in my daughter's bed right now" She sighed as she closed her eyes.

"Daughter? Don't you mean sister?" I laughed at her drunken mistake.

"Yeah…whatever you say" She chuckled, starting to sound sleepy. "Brax can you please take my dress off…its so uncomfortable" She sighed. I nodded my head as I rolled her to the side and tried finding the zip, before trying to wiggle it off her as she was half out of it. "Thanks" She mumbled before I put a blanket on her and kissed her forehead as she fell into a deep sleep.

"Night" I whispered before sitting in the arm chair in the room and falling sleep myself.


	24. Chapter 24: Hung over

**THERE'S GONNA BE A HOT TAMALE IN THE OL' TOWN TONIGHT! Yessss this chapter does incude some spice, so you have been warned haha. Thanks for all the comments and favourites! If you would like a little more spice in your life go and read my new completed one shot fan fic called "Prevent and Prevail". You'll find that in the M rated section in the Home & Away fan fiction section =)**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 24<strong>

Charlie's Point of View

I woke up with an odd feeling in my stomach before opening my eyes and looking around the unfamiliar room. "Oh shit" I gasped noticing I was only in my bra and undies and Brax was asleep in the arm chair in the corner of the room. Brax started to stir before opening his eyes and looking at me.

"Hey, what's up?" He seen how upset I was.

"Why am I practically naked?" I sat up and the room started spinning as I got a vision of my teenage years and all the bad things that had happened back then.

"You got pretty wasted last night and you didn't want to go home so I brought you back here and cleaned you up before you crashed" He nodded towards to head. I placed a hand on my forehead only for it to sting. "Annnnd you attempted to hit on me several times and we kissed…but apart from that nothing else happened…I promise, I'd never do that you or anyone else for that matter" He chuckled.

"You should have just taken me home, I obviously made a fool of myself!" I got out of bed swaying and tried to find my dress.

"Woah, woah, Charlie you're pretty hung over…just sleep it off here until you feel well enough to go home" He placed his hands on my shoulders and tried to help me back into bed.

"Oh god" I suddenly felt sick. I quickly pushed Brax off me and ran into the bathroom.

"Wow, Buckton…really eager aren't you?" A voice chuckled as I was throwing up. I looked up only to find Heath standing there in only a towel, smirking at me.

"Charlie, you ok?" Brax rushed in, concerned.

"Karma" I groaned, leaning back against the wall.

"Heath will you stop staring at her!" Brax whacked his brother over the head as I noticed him staring at my underwear-clad body.

"Nice seeing you Sergeant Buckton" Heath chuckled, walking out.

"If its got legs and a rack, he's there" Brax chuckled, crouching down and looking at me. "You want me to get you anything?" He asked.

"No, I should go home…this is karma telling me that this was a huge mistake" I stood up and walked back into Brax's room, getting my dress.

"Oh ok…well I hope you feel better" He nodded.

"This night stays between us…if this gets out, my career is shot!" I snapped at him before grabbing my purse and heading out into the living room. "Oh my god…this just tops it off doesn't it" I cried as Casey and Heath both stood there staring at me.

"Charlie…"

"No Brax, don't!" I put on my dress quickly before storming home. I walked through my front door only to find Bianca standing there with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't ask" I yelled, walking to my bedroom. Bianca followed me in.

"Where were you last night?" She asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

"I got drunk and slept at Brax's…I feel so stupid! I practically threw myself at him!" I burst into tears.

"Hey, but you didn't sleep with him, did you?" She asked concerned.

"No, but apparently I wanted to…Brax thought I was in too much of a vulnerable state to agree to sleeping with me" I continued.

"Charlie, calm down. That just proves that he's a good guy, doesn't it? Any other guy probably would have had his hands all over you at the first sign of you being drunk." Bianca chuckled.

"But I'm a cop and he is a leader of a gang…it shouldn't have happened in the first place!" I groaned.

"Charlie…you obviously have feelings for him and he obviously cares about you. Who cares what other people think? I know its risky for your career but honestly when are you ever going to get this chance again…I say go for it" Bianca smiled before hugging me and leaving the room. Maybe Bianca had a point, if Brax felt that same way about me as I did for him, maybe we could keep something under wraps.

Brax's point of view

I could tell Charlie was going to ignore me for the rest of the day. Heath just looked at me after Charlie left. "Don't you start" I warned him.

"Mate, she's a cop! You're sleeping with a cop!" He yelled at me.

"We aren't sleeping together, she was a bit drunk and didn't want to go home last night" I explained to him.

"I don't care what it is, you need to learn to keep your dick in your pants!" He continued yelling.

"Oh you can fucking talk!" I yelled back at him. "And I didn't sleep with her…she was absolutely wasted…unlike you I don't do that type of thing!"

"You really, really like her don't you? Oh this just puts the icing on the cake!" Heath stormed out of the house. Casey just looked at me.

"Don't you dare tell Ruby about this…Charlie feels bad enough as it is" I gave him a stern warning before he also walked out. I had a shower and got ready for my shift before heading down to the restaurant. The evening wasn't too busy and I decided to let the kitchen staff and waitresses leave early so I could do some paper work. I heard a set of footsteps coming up the stairs. "We're closed" I yelled out before seeing who it was. Charlie walked in and looked at me. "Oh, hi…how you feeling?"

"Um, pretty crappy to be honest, but I suppose that teaches me to not to drink so much" She replied, looking down at her feet.

"You want some food or something?…we've got a few pizzas that I was going to take home" I asked seriously.

"Um, yeah sure" she sat down in the booth next to me. I got out and got the pizzas from the kitchen and placed them on the table. "I haven't been able to keep much down all day, so fingers crossed I can eat this" She smiled before looking at the pizza.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked confused as such.

"I wanted to see you" She looked into my eyes. "And to say I'm sorry for yelling at you this morning…you were looking after me and I didn't even thank you…so thanks and sorry for being rude." She continued looking at me.

"No problem…I wasn't just going to leave you. Your head is looking better." I gave her a small smile back.

"I know you wouldn't" she took a sip of water before moving closer to me. Our eyes were locked on each other. "You know what…it was rude of me to come here at closing time…sorry, I should go" She got up and went to leave.

"Charlie, its late, how about I give you a lift?" I offered. She turned around and looked at me before smiling.

"Sure…thanks" She sat down next to me before picking up a slice of pizza and took a bite.

"Hungry ay?" I chuckled, continuing to do paper work.

"Very…I haven't eaten since last night. Speaking of last night…I made a fool of myself and I am so sorry about that too." She apologised, taking another sip of water.

"No worries…it was nice…in a weird way, just me looking after you and you actually letting me" I turned and smiled at her, looking into her bright blue eyes. She smiled and blushed before she placed a kiss upon my lips and massaged them gently. One of my hands moved up towards her cheek, pulling her closer to me. She moaned into the kiss before I broke away quickly. "What's wrong?" She asked, shocked.

"I just don't want to do this if you are just going to lead me on again. I'm not going to keep playing your games…I'm sick of you leading me on then ignoring me and telling me how we can't be together cause of your job. I want to be with you, but if you're going to keep leading me on then forget it." I told her seriously, placing my forehead against hers.

"Brax…I'm not going to mess around anymore. I want to be with you too" She gave me a small smile.

"About bloody time." I placed my hands on her cheeks as we made out passionately. She broke away with a smile as things started to get heated. "We should probably go ay?" I suggested with a smirk.

"Uhuh" she bit her bottom lip and tried not to smile. We got into my car and I drove her back to my place. "Are Casey and Heath home?" She asked as soon as we pulled up to the house.

"I assume so….why?" I asked, knowing where this night was taking me. She smirked before leaning over and whispered in my ear.

"That just means we have more of a challenge to keep quite" She smiled before hoping out of the car. I quickly got out and ran over to her, pushing her into the car door gently, my sex drive going wild. We made out quickly before she broke away and looked at me with those gorgeous eyes. "I think maybe we should take this to your bedroom" She continued with that sexy smirk as she took my hand and led me inside and to my own bedroom. I shut the door behind me as the moment I had been dreaming of for weeks was finally coming true. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down onto the bed as we savagely placed kisses on each other's lips. She pawed at my shirt as we broke away for a second for her to take it off. She placed her hands on my bare chest, feeling her way down to my jeans before cupping my package making me break away from her in shock. "I want these jeans off now" She took both hands and undid the fly of my jeans, pulling them down revealing my boxers. I quickly stood up and yanked both my jeans and boxers off as she looked at me wide eyed.

"Impressed?" I smirked. She stood up on the bed and placed kisses on my neck. "Hold on, hold on…this seems a little unfair…time to strip sweetheart" I pulled away and smirked as I placed my hands on the button of her jeans, undoing them quickly before pulling them down and watching her kick them away. I saw her black lace panties before looking up at her. "You had this all planned out didn't you…try to seduce me then bring me back here to have sex" I chuckled.

"Lets just say I like to plan ahead" She smirked, taking off her shirt, revealing a matching bra. I pulled her down and kissed her lips passionately before pushing her back onto the bed and crawling up to her. She quickly undid her bra and threw it across the room, giving me a spectacular show of her breasts.

"And you said that I would never fondle your boobs again if you were still a cop in this town" I smiled. She laughed before leaning up and kissing me.

"I lied" She mumbled between kisses before pulling me back down to her and reaching down to take off her panties. I pushed my bareness against hers as I heard her moan into our kiss. "Stop teasing…please" She pleaded before I put on protection and got straight down to work, hearing her moan in relief.


	25. Chapter 25: After math

**Long time no see! So sorry about the chapter delay. Basically I started writing this a while ago but there are some filler chapters that I wasn't too sure of what to do with...this was one of them haha! So anywho's thank you all for continuing to support this fic!**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 25<span>**

Charlie's Point of View

I was lying there with my head on Brax's bare tattooed chest, feeling his heart still pounded from what had just happened with us. I move my head so my chin was on his chest and I looked at him, staring at the ceiling. I traced my fingers over the words 'Blood and Sand' on his toned chest, watching his eyes move to mine. We looked at each other blankly, waiting for someone to break the silence. "I should go" I whispered, rolling off him.

"Oh ok" He replied quietly. I got up out of bed and got dressed. I could feel his eyes watching me. "When am I going to see you again?" He asked, still lying in bed.

"Soon" I smiled before grabbing my shoes and leaving. I walked into the house only to find Bianca still awake doing some school work at the dinning table.

"Where have you been?" Bianca looked up at me.

"Just went for a walk" I nodded.

"You were gone an hour and a half" Bianca chuckled.

"It was a long walk" I smiled before getting a glass of water.

"By the way your shirt is inside out" Bianca laughed. I looked down quickly, worried that she would know. I realised my shirt wasn't inside out before rolling my eyes at Bianca. "Ahh so you didn't just go for a walk did you" She smiled at me. I sat down at the table next to her and placed my head in my hands. "How was he?" She asked excitedly. All I could do was sigh.

"How am I meant to answer that?" I chuckled.

"Was he a dud, was he mind blowing, did he do anything kinky?" Bi asked in anticipation.

"Let's just say that bedroom was quite steamy after we'd finished" I chuckled back.

"Good sex must run in the Braxton family" Bianca winked. "So are you planning on seeing him again?"

"I think I might actually" I laughed before heading off to bed.

_The next morning_

I headed into work that morning only to find Watson rushing around. "Serge, have you forgotten. We have Heath Braxton's court case today!"

"Oh shit…how could I have forgotten about that?!" I quickly grabbed my cap, my files & my keys before we both headed to the car. We soon got to the court house only to find both Brax and Heath dressed in suits, along with the wicked Hayley O' Conner. "Why didn't you remind me of this last night?" I hissed at him.

"Last night had nothing to do with today" He replied before walking away from me. Watson and I both walked in and sat down just as court was starting. Both Watson and I got called up to the stand to testify and present our statements before getting asked questions off Miss O'Conner.

"Now, Sergeant Buckton is it true that you transferred from the city to Yabbie Creek Police Station due to the so called problem of the River Boys" The blonde haired bitch asked me with a smirk on her face.

"Yes that is correct" I nodded.

"And its correct that you have arrested both Heath Braxton and Darryl Braxton numerous times but have not been able to charge them?" She smiled back. I sighed before answering.

"Yes, that is correct" I nodded back again.

"So it can safely be assumed that there is a high possibility that Heath Braxton could have been set up, due to the frustration of Sergeant Buckton in trying to get rid of the Braxton's from Summer Bay and its surroundings" Hayley smirked.

"Objection, your honour" The prosecution officer stepped in before I could yell and scream at Hayley. After another hour of questions and statements the judge soon made his decision and gave Heath a $300 fine along with 3 month good behaviour bond. I walked out of the court room and noticed Heath, Hayley and Brax having a good old laugh before Watson and I headed back to the station. The rest of my shift was soon over and I headed back home to Bianca, April, Dex and Ruby sitting in the living room talking.

"I suppose you all heard then?" I sighed as I flopped on the sofa.

"Yeah Heath rang me…I'm still really annoyed at him" Bianca sulked.

"Bianca he's no good for you!" April scoffed as her and Dex left.

"Casey seems pleased…but he was saying that, it was very unlikely that something serious would happen" Ruby nodded towards me.

"Yeah well it doesn't matter now. I just lost my chance to be one step ahead of them" I continued sulking.

"Cheer up Charlie…at least they are having a party to celebrate if you want to come over with me" Ruby smiled.

"You really think I'd be welcome there, let alone want to go?!" I scoffed before storming into my room. What was Ruby thinking?! I got dressed into some casual clothes before checking my emails on my laptop and heading back out only to find Bianca on the lounge by herself.

"Ruby went over to help them set up" Bianca handed me a glass of wine before I sat down next to her.

"She better realise it's a school night and if she isn't home by 10.30 I will be bringing out the big guns!" I gulped down my wine.

"Woah, go easy there Charlie" Bianca chuckled before pouring me another glass. "Is this really about Heath's court case or is it about Brax?" Bianca asked knowingly.

"No, it's that stupid bitch of a lawyer! She's all over Brax, all the time!" I sighed in frustration. "She even showed me up in court today!"

"Ahh I see…so basically you're jealous…even though from what I understand you and Brax aren't exactly exclusive yet?" Bianca tried not to laugh.

"Oh shut up!" I chuckled.

"I'm sorry. Ok how about we walk down to the diner, pick up some take away and head on back here and watch corny romance films!" Bianca suggested as she hugged me. We headed out the front only for me to see Hayley flirting with Brax at his car. I rolled my eyes as Brax looked at me before watching her kiss his cheek, lingering as Bianca took my hand as we walked away faster.

"She makes me so angry!" I said as we got into the diner. Leah soon helped us out with some food and we headed back home only to find the music next door pumping and loads of people inside the house. Bianca and I sat down with our dinner, more wine and a heart breaking French movie before I headed into my room to get changed for bed. Taking off my jeans and shirt I sifted though my pyjama drawer before hearing a loud noise from my window. I screamed only for Brax to crush my lips with his and stop me. I pulled away quickly and slapped him on the face.

"What the fuck was that for?!" He held his cheek.

"You scared me!" I replied angrily.

"No need to slap me though" He sat on the bed. "Nice to see you were waiting for me" He smirked at my lack of clothes.

"Shut up" I stormed over and pushed him before feeling his arms wrap around my waist. "No, you don't get to act all cute and attractive right now. I'm really pissed off" I tried to squirm out of his arms. He let me go and stood up.

"What did I do?" He asked confused.

"Why aren't you with Hayley right now? Or did you already sleep with her and you were looking for more?" I asked angrily.

"Oh I see…you're jealous of Hayley. Well I can tell you now nothing is going to happen between her and me. I want you and I have since you arrived here, so why would I jeopardise losing you to that skank. We've only just started this Charlie…what ever this is, and I want to see where we can take this" Brax replied seriously. "You're the one who wants to keep this under wraps, but you also seem to be the one who's getting pissed off when I try to cover up what we're doing. I only played Hayley along so she wouldn't suspect me of sleeping with you or anyone else for that matter" He shook his head at me before heading towards the open window.

"Wait…I'm sorry" I stopped him. He looked at me seriously before sitting back on the end of my bed. "I just hate seeing girls all over you. I know this is new to both of us, but I would really like to see where we can take this. But right now I know where the rest of tonight will be taking us" I smirked at him before slipping off my panties, walking up to him and straddling his lap.

"This is why I don't want anyone else!" His arms wrapped around my waist as his lips pressed onto mine and pulled me back onto the bed with him.


	26. Chapter 26: Shower groundrules

**Very short, but long overdue chapter. Sorry guys, been trying to sort this one out. You know when you have a beginning and an end to a story, but trying to fill in the middle is a bit hard? Yeah well this is basically what has been happening with this. Just been brain storming ideas over the past couple of weeks. See I've already written the ending, but just trying to fill in all the stuff to get there is becoming difficult. Sorry for the wait and this little disappointing chapter but yeah, thanks to all those who are still sticking by =)**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 26<strong>

_1 week later_

Brax's Point of View

Charlie and I had been seeing a lot of each other and by seeing I mean shagging each other senseless. Charlie had been trying to set down some ground rules but every time she got all strict and police officer like I just wanted to take her clothes off and have her in my bed. I was running out of the surf one morning when I seen her jogging along the beach. I placed my board down, looking if anyone was around before running up to her, grabbing her around the waist and planting a kiss on her lips. She quickly pulled away from me and glared at me. "Not here!" She spat out.

"Well how about I come over later and we go over the rules?" I questioned her with a smirk.

"Fine! Be there in half an hour!" She snapped before jogging off. As usual I sat underneath her bedroom window until Ruby, April and Bianca left for school and then snuck in. I look around her bedroom and then wandered up the hallway only to find the bathroom door open slightly and a humming sound coming from the shower.

"Glad I caught you, I really need a shower after that surf" I scared her as she seen me and jumped.

"Oh my god, I forgot you were coming" She gasped. I tore off my clothes before opening the shower door and staring her naked body up and down. "You are such a perve" she giggled before I got under the shower stream with her, taking her around the waist and placing a kiss on her lips. She broke away and looked at me. "No kissing until I've gone over the ground rules" She said sternly. "Ok so no contact in public, so yes that does mean if you see me jogging on the beach you can't come up and just kiss me! I am putting my career on the line because I want to see where this could go." She said cutely as a tinge of blush covered her cheeks.

"I understand" I nodded and stroked her cheek.

"Also too…no flirting with me if you come over. If Casey and Ruby find out about this we're both screwed" she sighed and leaning onto my chest.

"Yeah same with Heath and the boys. If they find out I'm sleeping with a cop we're both in big trouble" I kissed her forehead, not wanting anything bad to happen to her.


	27. Chapter 27: Confrontations

**So sorry this has taken so long, but now that my other fic is finished I can start focusing more on this one! Thanks for all those who have stuck by this =)**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 27<strong>

Ruby's Point of View

"You're starting to look good out there babe" Casey smiled at me as we ran out of the waves together after surfing.

"And I've got you to thank for it!" I grinned back, leaning up and kissing him.

"And I know exactly how you can thank me" He whispered in my ear before throwing me over his shoulder. He walked us over to our towels, laying me down on them before leaning over me.

"Oi!" A voice broke us away from each other before I looked up to find Heath blocking our sun.

"What do you want?" Casey stood up and glared at him.

"I wanna talk to you, away from your girlfriend!" Heath practically dragged Casey away and further up the beach so I couldn't hear them. From what I could see Heath was hassling Casey about something, but Casey didn't want a bar of it. Before I knew it Casey had pushed Heath away, grabbed my hand and we walked up to the surf club.

"What was all that about?" I asked concerned.

"Nothing" Casey had an angry look on his face as we walked in to order our juices. To be honest I was a bit worried about what Heath and Casey were talking about. Maybe I should talk to Brax about it?

Brax's Point of View

"5 more minutes…just stay for 5 more minutes" Charlie groaned, wrapped her arms around me and placing kisses on my neck.

"Charlie, I really have to go. Its my only day off this week and I really have to get some work done" I chuckled, loving the affection she was giving me but I really needed to go home.

"Fine…but I'll be over to visit you later" she let go of me and got out of bed, showing off her gorgeous naked body as she did.

"You did that on purpose you evil woman" I groaned, hopping out of bed also.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Mr Braxton" She smirked, putting on a pair of panties.

"I'll see you later" I slipped on my jeans and my t-shirt before kissing her and leaving through the window. I was only home for 5 minutes before I heard a knock at the door. "Ahh hey Ruby, Casey's not here…I thought he was with you?" I looked at the young girl confused.

"Ah yeah I know…he was with me, but him and Dex had some assignment to do. I actually wanted to talk to you about Casey" She looked concerned.

"Yeah sure, come in Rubes" I invited her in. "What's up Ruby?" I asked, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"Its about Heath and Casey actually…this morning Heath and Casey had a bit of an argument on the beach. This isn't the first time it's happened either. I think it might have something to do with drugs" She looked at me worried.

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing stupid.

"Brax I know what your brother is into. My sister is a cop, remember? I promise I won't say anything to her, but just keep Casey out of all that stuff. He doesn't need that in his life" Ruby said to me before standing up to leave. I couldn't believe Heath was trying to get Casey involved in all this! I was furious! I quickly headed down to Angelo's only to find Heath sitting at the bar drinking with a few of the boys.

"Oi! I want to talk to you!" I grabbed his shirt and pulled him away from the bar and out to the balcony. He ripped himself away from me and looked.

"What the fuck man?!" He yelled at me.

"What this about you getting Casey involved with our business?" I glared at my brother.

"I've got no idea what you're talking about Bro" Heath smiled at me.

"I know you're stupid, no need to actually act like it! I know about you and Casey fighting and you're little chats to him!" I admitted.

"It was the little piglet wasn't it" Heath chuckled and shook his head. "If her sister wasn't a cop, she'd get it Brax, she would!" He hissed at me. I grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and pushed him against the railing.

"Touch her and I will kill you!" I threatened him.

"Oh that's right, I forgot…you're sleeping with the cop aren't you? I don't care if you said she was only staying over because she was drunk on her birthday, I know you're sleeping with her. It's so fucking obvious" Heath spat back, pulling away from me.

"I wouldn't have to sleep with her if you were staying out of trouble!" I told her. It was true. Yes Charlie was good looking and we both wanted each other but I had other motives and I knew she did too.

"And I wouldn't be in this trouble if you hadn't got me involved in the first place!" He stormed off, back towards to bar. He was right. I had started this business and I had to be the one to finish it. I got home and got to work doing some orders for the bar. I could only think about what I had gotten my family and myself into. Was sleeping with a cop really going to get us all out of trouble? Charlie wasn't the type of person to turn a blind eye and I knew she was dedicated to her job. She had told me the only reason she moved here was to keep my brothers and I under control. Sleeping with me was her just doing her job…and she was doing a might fine job at that.

"Yeah I'll need 6 cartons of that, thanks mate" I marked it off my order check list that was on my lap. I heard the front door open and before I knew it Charlie was staring me down with a smirk. "I'll get 2 of those thanks" I continued talking on the phone as I watched Charlie take her knickers off from under her skirt. They dropped to the floor and she kicked them to the side before pouncing on my lap. She quickly undid my fly and pulled down my boxers a little before lifting up her skirt and straddling me. I gasped as she placed her hands on my shoulders and started to ride me. "Um mate…I actually have to go. I've got something important that I have to do…thanks" I hung up the phone and threw it down before grabbed her cheeks and pressing my lips against hers passionately. "We really need to take this to the bedroom before someone comes home" I smirked against her lips as she made me buck against her in pleasure. We had soon made our way to the bedroom and every thought of us both using each other had gone out the window. We were soon down to business when I heard the front door open. I stopped and looked at Charlie wide eyed. I quickly rushed around getting my clothes back on before walking out into the living room, closing my bedroom door behind me. I walked out only to find Casey, with his face a mess. "What happened to you?" I asked.

"I fell" He mumbled, getting a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"On your face?" I questioned.

"Yep." He continued before walking into his room.

"Something tells me you're lying. The argument between you and Heath this morning wouldn't have anything to do with this?" I asked him knowingly. "Ruby came and told me" I continued. He rolled his eyes before storming back out of the room.

"Just fuck off and leave me alone Brax, you're not my mother! I can handle this myself!" He shouted before slamming the front door behind him.

"What was all that about?" Charlie walked out wearing nothing but my shirt. I sighed and looked at her before she walked up to me, snaking her arms around my neck. "You can tell me you know?" she genuinely looked concerned.

"It's nothing" I mumbled, looking into her bright blue eyes. She pecked my lips before staring at me. "Charlie just stop…we have to stop pretending. We're both using each other. You said it yourself, we're from opposite worlds and all you want to do is arrest me and my family…we can't base a sexual relationship on that" I shook my head and pulled away.

"Well it seems to be working so far" she looked at me seriously.

"Face the facts Charlie, as soon as you find any dirt on me or the boys, you'll be over here quick smart to bring us down" I told her.

"Well maybe if you guys didn't have anything to hide we wouldn't be in this position!" She snapped before storming into the bedroom and putting her clothes back on. She walked out before glaring at me.

"So this is it?" I asked.

"I guess so" She nodded. I watched as she went to leave before picking up her underwear off the living room floor. She shook her head and snatched them off me before putting them on quickly and storming out of the house. She had been right all along; this was never going to work unless one of us changed.

Ruby's Point of view

I was at home alone, hoping that Casey would be finished with his assignment with Dex and come visit me. Soon enough my wish was granted and I heard a knock at the door. "Oh my god, what happened to you?" I asked him, noticing his face all bruised and bloody.

"Nothing…look I think we should stop seeing each other" He said quickly and bluntly.

"What?!" I asked in shock.

"I don't want to be with you anymore Ruby…its me not you" He continued, not even looking me in the eye.

"Why are you doing this Casey?" I asked, trying not to cry.

"I'm just not feeling it anymore" He nodded.

"Heath put you up to this didn't he?" It all clicked.

"No Ruby he didn't…now just stay out of my life and leave me alone!" He snapped before leaving. I couldn't help burst into angry tears as I closed my front door. Why would Heath do this?! Charlie soon walked through the door looking moody as ever.

"What's up Rubes?" She asked. I looked at her before running out the front door and towards the beach. I sat on the sand and looked out towards the waves, trying to keep it together and figure out what had just gone on. Looking further down the beach I noticed Heath and a few of the river boys sitting down drinking and laughing loudly. I suppose anger had gotten the best of my emotions and before I knew it I was storming towards them.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I pushed Heath's back, making him turn around. He looked at me before smirking.

"You got guts girl" He chuckled.

"Why can't you just leave Casey alone and leave him out of all your shit! He's a good person, not a no hoper like you!" I fired up and pushed his chest.

"You're fucking lucky I don't hit girls!" He gritted his teeth, coming up closer to me.

"But you'll hit your younger brother won't you! Casey is more of a man than you will ever be!" I went to go punch him before I felt myself being held back. "Let me go!" I kicked and screamed.

"Come on Rubes, time to go home" I heard Brax's familiar voice as he threw me over his shoulder, kicking and screaming.

"Yeah, go home little girl! Don't expect to mess with the big kids and not get hurt!" I heard Heath yell out to me before all the guys around him laughed.


	28. Chapter 28: Broken and damaged

**Hello! So I am actually really happy with this chapter. Its kind of a mixed bag of a chapter, but I like it and I hope you all like it too! Thanks for all the reviews and favourites! **

**Enjoy xo  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 28<strong>

Brax's Point of View

I was about to head into the surf club after my confrontation with Charlie, before noticing Ruby ripping into Heath about something, on the beach. I knew this could only go bad with Heath involved. I quickly ran down towards them, pulling Ruby from Heath. "Let me go!" She shouted, kicking my shins. I held on to her tightly before throwing her over my shoulder.

"Come on Rubes, time to go home" I struggled with her before glaring back at Heath who was laughing with all the boys.

"Yeah, go home little girl! Don't expect to mess with the big kids and not get hurt!" I heard him yell behind us as I carried Ruby up the beach and towards my car. I put her down and opened my car door before closing it and hoping in the other side.

"Want to tell me what that was all about?" I asked seriously.

"Have you seen Casey's face?" She started to cry. I wasn't good in these type of situations. "Heath did that to him!" She continued, wiping away her tears.

"You should have just stayed out of it Rubes! Casey and I can sort all this out ourselves!" I groaned.

"Casey broke up with me" She muttered, looking at me with her bloodshot hazel blue eyes.

"Come on Rubes, I'll take you home" I patted her shoulder and started up the car.

"I don't want to go home" She burst into tears.

"Ruby…I have no idea what to say to you right now. Charlie will know how to deal with this…let me take you home so you can talk to her" I started to drive. We soon got to my driveway before Ruby got out and started walking back to her own place. "Rubes…" I chased after her before she got to the front door and opened it. Charlie stood there looking at Ruby before hugging her tightly.

"What happened?" She asked me, holding a sobbing Ruby.

"I found her starting a fight with Heath…and her and Casey broke up" I revealed.

"Oh baby" Charlie kissed her sisters forehead. "Thanks for bringing her home" Charlie nodded before closing the front door, leading Ruby inside. I got inside my own house only to find Casey lazing on the lounge playing x-box.

"So why'd you break up with Ruby?" I asked him seriously.

"Why is it any of your business?" He rolled his eyes and continued playing.

"Because I just had to pull her from a fight with Heath!" I snapped.

"Is she alright?" He paused his game and looked at me wide eyed.

"You just broke up with her, how'd do you think she is?" I shook my head at how stupid he was.

"I just didn't want Heath to hurt her…I did it to protect her" He mumbled. "I'm such an idiot" he continued.

"Yeah you are. Let me sort out Heath and you go make up with Ruby. I'm not going to let him hurt you or her again!" I told her seriously before watching him leave the house quickly. Today had definitely been a long day for everyone.

Ruby's Point of View

I let Charlie hold me until I had stopped crying. "Hun, everything will be alright" she stroked my cheek, trying to reassure me.

"He was my first Charlie…I trusted him…I loved him" I croaked, trying not to get teary again.

"Yeah but Ruby, he won't be your last" She kissed my forehead. I heard a knock at the door before Charlie broke away to answer it. Opening the door we both seen Casey standing there. "I really don't think now is the right time Casey" Charlie looked at him seriously.

"No, Charlie, it's fine" I stood up and wiped away the rest of my tears and looked at Casey's bruised face, letting him in. I led him to the privacy of my bedroom before sitting on my bed and watching him pace the room.

"I'm so sorry Rubes! I was scared that if I was still with you, Heath would find a way to hurt you and that's the last thing I wanted" He pleaded.

"You could have told me that Case. Instead of hurting me yourself" I shook my head at him.

"Ruby, you have to understand that I didn't mean anything I said before…Ruby, I love you" He got down on his knees and looked me in the eye. He was only looking out for me because he cared about me…how could I not forgive him?

"It's alright…I understand." I gave him a small smile before hugging him.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, before kissing my cheek.

Charlie's Point of View

Bianca and I watched as Ruby and Casey walked out of Ruby's room, hand in hand; a smile on both of their faces. "I'm assuming that both of you sorted things out?" I chuckled.

"Yeah…we're going down to the diner for dinner. I'll be back later" Ruby smiled before heading out the door with Case.

"Well looks like its just you and me tonight" Bianca smiled before pouring us each a glass of wine. "So how's your Braxton doing?" She asked as I took a sip.

"He's not…we're not. We're just too different Bianca…but it doesn't bother me. I'm not the type of girl to get attached" I shrugged.

"Yeah but admit it Charlie…the sex was amazing right?" Bianca chuckled.

"No comment" I laughed before we both headed out to the back deck to watch the sunset and enjoy our wines. As we were talking and laughing away I heard yelling coming from next door. From what I could hear Brax and Heath were fighting about something. Bianca rolled her eyes before sculling down her wine and pouring herself another. "I'm assuming Heath and you aren't on good terms either?" I laughed.

"I've been avoiding him since the court case…I just don't need that right now. I know its taken me a while to figure that out, but I had enough trouble with Liam and drugs…I don't need any more of that in my life" She nodded.

"Smart choice. I'm proud of you" I smiled back before we clinked our glasses together. Before we knew it we seen Brax and Heath flinging themselves out their back door and into the back yard. Brax had Heath pinned against the ground, slamming his fists in his face, before Heath overpowered Brax and vice versa. "Shit" I mumbled, before looking into their backyard. Both Bianca and I ran through our house and through their back gate only to find them still at each other. Brax's lip was cut and I could see a black eye starting to form but the fight was still going strong. "BOTH OF YOU STOP IT!" I tried to pull Brax off Heath, without getting myself hurt.

"HEATH! Just stop, please!" Bianca looked on in shock. I managed to grab Brax's fist before pulling it behind his back and helping him off the ground. Bianca ran up to Heath, placing her hands on his shoulders and pushing him away from his brother.

"Brax….just stop! Clam down" I looked into his eyes, placing my hands on his chest. He looked at Heath, panting heavily, before looking at me.

"Of course ya girlfriend comes to save the day! Always the way isn't it bro!" Heath spat at Brax. I could see Brax firing up, lunging towards him.

"STOP!" I stood in front of him, using every muscle in my body to stop him from killing his brother.

"Come on Heath, we're going for a walk" Bianca took Heath's hand and walked him out the back gate.

"What was that about?" I asked concerned, as soon as they were gone.

"It was nothing" He muttered, storming inside. I followed him in, watching him walk into the kitchen and grabbing himself a beer.

"That wasn't nothing Brax!" I shouted at him.

"Just piss off Charlie!" He yelled back, slamming the fridge door and walking into his bedroom.

"How does Heath know about us?" I continued following him.

"He just assumed after you were here the night after your birthday that we were sleeping together…so I told him I was using you, to get him off my back" He took a sip of the beer, sitting on his bed.

"But you were using me Brax, so how is that a lie?" I chuckled back.

"Says the one who admitted that she's only sleeping with me to get the dirt on the gang I'm in" He rolled his eyes, before flinching, noticing the alcohol stinging his cut lip. I placed my hands on his cheeks, looking at the cut, before looking into his eyes.

"Let me clean that up for you" I broke away.

"What are you going to do? Kiss it better for me?" He chuckled.

"Well I could do that…or I could go get some antiseptic and clean it!" I rolled my eyes before going to the bathroom and grabbing some tissues and antiseptic.

"If you weren't a cop, I think you'd make a good nurse…and a sexy one at that!" He chuckled, placing a hand on my hip as I cleaned up his cut.

"Well Ruby was the clumsiest kid in the world…I was always cleaning up her cuts and bruises" I chuckled a reply, thinking back to when she was a little.

"There's a big age difference between you two…you were what…15, when she was born? I'm assuming she was a surprise to both your parents" He commented.

"Yeah…she sure was" I nodded, remembering exactly when she was born. "So tell me something Brax…tell me about Tegan?" I changed the subject, bringing up an even riskier one. I put down the antiseptic on the dresser before watching Brax lay back on his bed and groan. I laid down on the other side of the bed and looked at him.

"Tegan and I met when we were 16…we just got on really well. We dated for 5 years before she cheated on me. A couple of months later she told me she was pregnant and the other guy didn't want a bar of it. I stayed with her through her pregnancy and I was with her when her daughter Darcy was born. After Darcy was born we dated on and off for a while, but she was always the same old Tegan…never growing up, leaving Darce with her mother, always getting herself into trouble and expecting me to clean up her mess. Last year she left Darcy on my doorstep before telling me she was meeting up with some guy. I was so angry with her that I went to go confront her, but on my way there I seen her car wrapped around a tree. I held her hand until help arrived, but by then she had passed away. I guess she was a huge part of my life for a long time…I've never really told anyone that before" He turned and looked me in the eye. I couldn't help but feel saddened by what he had just told me. He was broken and damaged, just like me and I wanted so bad to fix him. I could feel my eyes tearing up. "Hey, why the tears ay?" He chuckled, taking my hand in his and squeezing it.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, pulling him tightly into a hug.

"Don't be sorry Charlie…I'm just glad you're here to listen" He chuckled, kissing my ear softly. I felt privileged that Brax had told me this…it meant he trusted me. Maybe there was more to this Braxton than I thought. Breaking his trust was the last thing on my mind right now.


	29. Chapter 29: Hear no evil?

**HELLO ALL MY LOVELY READERS! Long time no see, but seeing as its christmas, I thought I'd pot a long awaited chapter. Thanks for all the reviews and favourites. Merry Christmas! i hope you all have a wonderful time =D**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 29<strong>

_2 weeks later_

Charlie's point of view

Heath and Brax had been constantly fighting for the past two weeks. Its like they never got on about anything. Brax had been finding comfort in talking to me. I had never seen him as a very open person, but lately things had been different. "Oi is Heath still at your place?" I heard Brax nearly yell at me as I walked into an empty Angelo's, picking up take away for myself.

"Yep…Bianca and him have been all over each other all afternoon. So I'm going to eat my dinner on the beach" I sighed, annoyed that Heath had been staying at our house very regularly. Bianca knew how I felt about him, but still offered her bed to him when he didn't want to go home and face Brax.

"Tell him to get home and clean up the mess he left all over the kitchen" Brax shook his head, angrily.

"Brax, I'm not his mother! Why don't you go tell him! I'm sick of him in our house, I want him gone!" I snapped in frustration.

"Ok, I'll talk to him" He put his hands up in defence and looked at me. "I'm sorry" He looked into my eyes as I handed him the money. "On the house" He smiled and held my hand. "Justin, I'm taking a break, I'll be back in an hour" Brax yelled out into the kitchen before grabbing my bag of take away and walking out from behind the bar. We walked down to the beach together in silence. Things had been a little quiet between us, since he decided we we're never going to work, but since he told me about Tegan I just felt a lot more for him than I should. "So do you want to come over tonight?" He asked me randomly as we sat down with dinner.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" I asked with a smile.

"I think its an awesome idea" He smirked, placing a hand on my cheek before leaning down and kissing me. We both broke away and looked at each other.

"Nothings changed Brax. We're still opposites and we're still going to be using each other" I placed my forehead against his and whispered.

"Who cares" He replied, placing another kiss on my lips. We continued kissing for a few minutes before breaking away slowly.

"What time do you want me over tonight?" I smirked.

"Well I'll probably leave the restaurant at 10.30, so sometime after that" He pecked my lips before getting up and going back to Angelo's. I quickly ate dinner and headed home only to find Heath and Bianca in the kitchen making out. I walked in and rolled my eyes before Heath noticed me and smirked.

"You jealous that Bianca's getting more action with a Braxton than you?" He looked at me.

"Heath, stop it" Bianca mumbled. I shook my head before walking over to Brax's, sneaking in through his back door and waiting in his bedroom until he got home.

Brax's point of view

10.30 soon came about and I was closing up for the night. This also meant spending the night with Charlie hopefully. I got through the front door only to hear my phone ringing. "What do you want?" I snapped, after seeing the caller was Heath.

"I just wanted to let you know that I went out to the crop today. Someone's been nicking our dope. One guess who it is!" Heath said softly.

"Fucking Jake and Hammer!" I gritted my teeth before getting myself a beer out of the fridge.

"Me and some of the boys are gonna go over there tomorrow. Teach them a lesson!" Heath commented.

"You'll get yourself fucking killed! You know what Jake is like! He's fucking mental. Just leave it to me. I'll sort it out! Just harvest the rest of the crop and get it back to the shed." I tried to convince him.

"Just as long as you don't get that copper girl of yours involved!" Heath snapped back.

"Where are you?" I asked him.

"Bianca's…she's in the shower right now. Casey and piglet in her room and big piggy stormed out once she seen me here before" Heath chuckled.

"Just let me sort this out Heath" I repeated.

"No, Brax, you've gone soft! Jake and his boys need to learn who's boss in this town and they are going down!" Heath snapped before hanging up on me.

Charlie's Point of View

"Just let me sort this out Heath" I heard Brax on the phone as I laid on his bed, him unaware I was here. The words Jake, harvest and crop used all in the same phone call. Something big was going down and I was going to find out what and where!


	30. Chapter 30: Betrayal

**I hope everyone had a wonderful new year! New chapter for you all! Thanks for all the favourites and reviews!**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 30<strong>

Brax's point of view

After talking to Heath I was just so angry. I knew that if I let him go confront Jake tomorrow he wouldn't come back alive! I walked into my room only to find Charlie lying on the bed staring at me. "Charlie…um…how long you been here for?" I asked, trying to be subtle about my intentions.

"I seen your car out the front just now and snuck through the window" She smiled at me before getting up and walking over to me. "Surprised?" She asked, taking off her shirt before leaning up and kissing me passionately.

"Very" I mumbled, letting go of the phone call that just happened and picking her up, taking her to my bed. We made out for a while before Charlie broke away and took my shirt off, placing her hands on my chest before pushing me over so she was on top. She quickly took off her shorts and straddled me before taking off her bra and throwing it across the room. I took her hands, pulling her down close to me, kissing her rosy lips. "You need to let me undo my jeans if you want to go ahead with this" I smirked against her lips before watching her stand up on her knees over me. I quickly undid my jeans and pulled them down, kicking them off the bed before Charlie pulled down my underwear, pushing hers to the side and getting straight down to it. "Fucking hell Charlie" She rode me to oblivion and back before collapsing beside me. After moments of heavy breathing and silence I turned and looked at her with a smile. "That…that was amazing" I chuckled.

"You better bloody believe it." She whispered, leaning in the kiss my lips. I couldn't believe I was sleeping with this girl. She was everything I hated, but when I was around her, I felt less pain than what I had felt before. Heath was right; I had gone soft. And it was her that had made me want to be a better person. I couldn't help but smile as I looked into her icy blue, beautiful eyes. "What?" She asked confused as to why I was staring.

"Nothing" I chuckled, realising what I had to do about the whole Heath, Jake, crop situation. "Stay with me tonight" I whispered, pulling her close to me, holding her against my chest.

"Sure" she whispered back.

Charlie's point of View

I had lied to him about how long I had been in his room and now I was sleeping with him to find out more information. What was wrong with me?! I was sleeping with a known criminal! I watched as he smiled at me, staring into my eyes, into my soul, into my heart. He was getting to me and I couldn't help it. I was getting attached and I needed to end this. I needed to tell my superiors about what I'd heard on the phone and how I'd heard it! "Stay with me tonight" He whispered, pulling me against him. I could feel his heart beating against me as I was enveloped into him.

"Sure" I mumbled, already feeling guilty over what I'd just done.

_The next day_

After leaving a sleeping Brax early in the morning I got home and had a really long shower to prepare myself for what I was about to do today. I headed off to work only to walk in to find Watson on the phone, noting a few things down. "Serge…" She called out as I walked into my office.

"I need to call the inspector" I tried to brush her off.

"But Serge, we got an anonymous tip off about a dope harvest today on the south side of the national park. We need to get out there before 10 or we'll miss it!" Watson followed me in. I looked at her shocked before getting my keys and belt and rushing out to the car. We soon arrived and staked out until we could see something. We seen Jake and Hammer's crew in the distance, but no crops in sight. Next thing you know Heath and some of the other River Boys had ambushed them and a fight had started. Some of the boys were carrying crow bars and others, pocket knifes. "Go, go go!" I yelled out to everyone before we rushed onto the scene. Heath had taken on Jake and had him pinned to the ground. Stephenson and I tore them apart before calling an ambulance.

"Should have known you'd turn up!" Heath hissed at me before I shoved him in the car. After calling back up and taking everyone back to the station for processing we soon realised that we could only charge Heath and the river boys for assault and Jake and Hammer's gang for assault and the small amount of cannabis they had in the back on their utes. At least it was something. I was filling out paper work at the front desk when a voice distracted me.

"I've come to bail out Heath and the boys" I looked up to find those familiar Braxton eyes staring at me.

"Sure. I'll go get the paper work. The fee is a big one though" I mumbled, trying not to look at him. I had nearly dobbed him in this morning and at the moment I was so grateful I hadn't.

Brax's Point of View

I drove Heath home without saying a word until we got in the front door of the house. "I told you not to go there, Heath, I told you I would sort it out!" I tried to stay calm.

"And by sorting it out did you mean getting your girlfriend involved?" He glared at me.

"You're lucky she was there or you would have been dead right now!" I yelled at him before he grabbed me and pushed me against the wall.

"Dobbed into the cops by my own brother! You're pathetic ya know! Fucking dog!" He spat at me before letting me go and storming out of the house. I had ruined everything! I had ruined my relationship with Heath, once the boys and Casey found out what I did they would hate me. The only person who I had done the right thing for was Charlie and I had to see her.

Charlie's Point of View

After a long day at work I headed home onto find the house empty. I had a quick shower before wrapping myself in a towel and heading towards my bedroom to get changed into my pyjamas. Brax was going to hate me for arresting his brother, but it had to be done. I couldn't just ignore the tip off! I could never do that. I walked into my bedroom only to find Brax sitting on the bed with his face in his hands. "Brax…" I didn't know what to say. He stood up and paced the room, not even looking at me. "Brax…I'm sorry, I heard you on the phone last night with Heath and I was going into work today to tell them the truth about us, but when I got there we had an anonymous tip off about the meet up in the national park. I'm sorry, ok Brax! I feel so guilty that I lied to you last night…I'm so sorry" I looked into his eyes, practically pleading with him.

"I've done something worse Charlie." He mumbled before pacing again and sitting on the bed. I looked at him before watching him place his head in his hands again. "I knew if Heath went out there, he'd get himself killed…"

"You were the one who tipped us off" I looked at him shocked. It had all clicked.

"He hates me Charlie! I dobbed in my own brother!" He sighed.

"Brax, you did the right thing!" I tried to reassure him.

"He's never going to forgive me!" He was so angry at himself. "I've betrayed him!"

"Brax, calm down and listen to me. You did this because you care about him and love him. He might not get that, but I do!" I placed my hands on his cheeks and looked into his eyes.

"No Charlie, I did this for you" He whispered. "I did this because I haven't felt this way around a girl in a very long time. You make me want to be a better person" He looked into my eyes also. I smiled at him before wrapping my arms around him and kissing his lips passionately. "I want to be with you Charlie…even if that means giving up the life I'm currently living" he mumbled against my lips.

"I want to be with you too" I chuckled, taking off my towel and pushing him back into the bed.


	31. Chapter 31: Scars revealed

**Hello all you groovy people! So another chapter for you all, starting where the last left off. Thank you for all the reviews and favourites!**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 31<strong>

Brax's Point of view

I woke up in Charlie bed only to find her walking around in her underwear, getting some clothes out for the day. "Morning sleepyhead" She smiled before climbing on top of me. I looked her body up and down seductively before placing my hands on her hips, dragging my thumbs across the faint scar on her lower stomach, just above her underwear line. I had noticed this scar so many times before but never felt close enough to her, to ask what it was from; until now.

"That scar…you've never told me where you got it from" I asked, intrigued as I looked into her eyes.

"That, is nothing for you to worry about" She smirked and kissed me. I could tell she was trying to distract me. I rolled her over so I was on top and had her pinned to the bed as we made out.

"Tell me or no sex for a week" I mumbled as we kissed.

"That is totally not fair!" She broke away. "You'll totally cave before then" She chuckled.

"We don't even have to do this bet if you just tell me" I got out of bed and started getting dressed, hoping she'd give in. I could see her thinking and the way she was biting her lip; she couldn't keep her hands off me for a week.

"Fine" She groaned. I smirked before hoping back into bed and pulling her close to me. "You have to understand that this isn't easy for me to talk about." She started off seriously, which made me a bit worried. She took a deep breath before looking into my eyes. "When I was 14 I was going out with this guy called Grant. He was 2 years older than me and I suppose his reputation was more important than me. One night we we're at this party. My parents had no idea I was there. So anyway Grant and I were in one of the bedrooms making out, when he decided that he wanted to take our relationship to the next level" She took another breath, not taking her eyes off mine. "I said no" Her lip had started to wobble a little. "I kept saying no but he…he, just…kept going" She said slowly, trying not to cry. I pulled her closer to me, hugging her tightly. I wiped the stray tears from her cheeks and she continued. "Soon after…I found out I was pregnant. I kept it a secret until I started to show and my parents found out. It was too late to have an abortion and at that age my body was still too small to give birth so when I went into labour they gave me a caesarean, which left me with the scar" She told me. "I've never told anyone that before" She whispered. This poor girl had just poured her heart out to me and I had no idea how to react.

"Charlie…what happened to the baby?" I asked carefully.

"I gave birth to a little girl. When she was 2 weeks old I ran away because I couldn't handle being a parent. I gave up that right because I was young and didn't know what I was doing. So when I came back a year later, my parents had started to raise her as their own and she was told that I was her older sister" She revealed.

"Ruby" I made the connection, before hugging Charlie.

"She doesn't know Brax. How can I tell her? She'll never believe me." She continued, bursting into tears.

"Charlie, she's going to be so hurt that you've waited so long to tell her" I tried to comfort her, but I was right.

"I'll tell her when the time is right and at the moment, the time just isn't right" She pulled away from me and got up out of bed, wiping away her tears. "I've got to get ready for work…I think you should go" She nodded.

"Charlie, don't push me away after you've just told me all this!" I pleaded with her.

"I just need some time Brax. I've just told you a big chunk of my life and I need to figure out some stuff ok. So please just go. I'll talk to you later" She looked at me seriously.

Charlie's point of view

I watched as Brax got dressed and snuck out my window before I put on my robe and walked out into the living room. "Morning" I put on a smile before kissing Ruby's forehead, watching her eat her breakfast.

"I heard about your big day yesterday. Casey told me, but by the time I got home you were in bed" Ruby smiled back at me.

"Yeah, I mean its nothing big, but at least we got one of the gangs under control" I smirked. "Where's Bianca?" I asked curiously as she was usually out of bed at this time of morning. Ruby shrugged her shoulders before pointing to the bedroom. "Bi?" I knocked on her bedroom door, opening it only to find Bianca lying in the dark room, her eyes teary and she had something in her hand. I closed the door behind me and walked over to her, hopping into the other side of the bed. "What's wrong?" I asked. She rolled over before handing me something and bursting into even more tears. I looked down to find a positive pregnancy test in my hand. "Oh Bianca" I hugged my best friend tightly, knowing, she was going to need all the support I could give her.


	32. Chapter 32: Evidence under the bed

**Hello! Glad you all liked the last chapter. Thanks to those who reviews and favourite-d =)**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 32<strong>

Charlie's Point of View

"What am I going to tell Heath?" Bianca tried not to cry as I hugged her.

"Tell him the truth and see what he says. If he isn't going to support you, April, Ruby and I will all support you!" I told her strongly.

"The father of my baby just got arrested for assault! I never pictured my life turning out like this" She replied.

"This baby is going to be the best thing that happened to you…trust me" I smiled at her. Soon enough Bianca had calmed down enough to come out of her room and face a now awake April and Ruby.

"Bianca…are you ok? Why do you look like you've been crying?" April came up and hugged her sister.

"Rubes…why don't we give these two some privacy?" I nodded to Ruby who came into my room with me.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked me a she sat on my bed.

"Bianca is pregnant" I revealed.

"That's great news! Oh…Heath" it all made sense to Ruby. "She's not going to give up the baby is she?" Ruby asked sadly.

"I don't think she will. She's got all us girls to support her" I smiled and sat next to her, hugging her softly.

"I don't think I could ever get an abortion Charlie…I don't know how people do it" Ruby broke away and shook her head at me. I nodded silently before lying back on my bed. Now was a better time then ever to tell her about our past.

"Rubes, there's something I need to tell you…" I started.

"What are these?" Ruby picked up something off the floor before looking at me. "These are guys underwear!" She smirked at me before throwing them at me. I caught them and blushed before throwing them to the side. "You've had a boy over Charlie!" Ruby laughed.

"Shut it Ruby" I chuckled back.

"Tell me who it is!" She crawled up onto the bed and looked at me. "I'm your sister Charlie, just tell me" She giggled.

"I can't tell you" I shook my head and tried not to smile.

"Oh my god Charlie! Its Brax isn't is?!" Ruby sat up and looked at me wide eyed. I bit my lip and didn't say a thing. "IT IS!" She hugged me.

"You can't say anything to anyone!" I said to her seriously.

"So do I want to know the details of this relationship or do the underwear under your bed explain everything?" Ruby asked with a smile.

"Nothing to tell you, but when there is, I'll let you know" I smirked back.

"You guys can come out now" We heard yelled from the living room.

"Oh by the way Charlie, what did you want to tell me before?" Ruby asked, curiously.

"Nothing…doesn't matter" I smiled back.

Brax's Point of View

I still couldn't believe that Charlie had opened up to me about Ruby. It was like we were starting to trust each other. I had missed that. I left Charlie's, grabbed my board and went straight to the beach for a surf. It felt so good, getting into the waves; I felt free and relaxed. After about an hour I got out and sat on the beach, staring into the ocean. "Hey you!" I heard a voice, pull my attention away from the sea. I turned to see Ruby in her school uniform sitting down next to me.

"Hey, Rubes" I smiled.

"So I know" She had a smirk on her face.

"Know about what?" I asked confused.

"Oh don't play stupid with me…you know what I'm talking about" She chuckled. Was she talking about Charlie being her mother?

"Did Charlie tell you?" I asked, kind of shocked.

"Not exactly…I kind of guessed when I found your undies under her bed this morning" Ruby continued smirking.

"Ohhhh" I understood.

"To be honest, I think you'll be good for Charlie. She needs someone like you to make her less uptight" Ruby continued.

"I'm glad we have your approval…but I don't think its going to last" I revealed.

"You make her happy, she makes you happy; sounds pretty simple to me" She chuckled. "Well I'm off to school…I'll catch you later" Ruby giggled before standing up and walking off. Soon enough I seen Heath walking down towards me. I knew this would only cause trouble. I started walking away only for him to yell out.

"You too much of a cowardly dog to face me ah…BROTHER" He emphasized last word.

"No, I just don't want to start a fight with you! You broke your 3-month good behaviour bond, which means you'll most likely go to prison! For once, why couldn't you listen to me and keep ya fucking head down!" I turned and yelled at him.

"Oh that's right, what ever Brax says, goes! Well guess what Brax…the boys, they don't listen to you any more, and neither do I" Heath yelled back. I couldn't help myself, I lunged towards him and pushed him to the ground, punching him.

"OI BREAK IT UP!" A set of hands grabbed me and forcefully pulled me off Heath, pushing me face down on the sand. "You're under arrest Mr Braxton" I felt someone kneel over me and cuff me.

"Of course you have to show up, don't ya?" Heath chuckled as he got cuffed too.

Charlie's Point of View

Watson and I were doing a daily patrol at the surf club when we seen Brax and Heath fighting on the beach. I quickly ran down with Watson following. "OI BREAK IT UP!" I pulled Brax off Heath before cuffing him. "You're under arrest Mr Braxton" I couldn't believe I had just arrested the guy I was falling for!

"Of course you have to show up, don't ya?" Heath looked at me before Watson handcuffed him. I rolled my eyes before pulling Brax up off the sand.

"You don't have to do this Charlie" Brax mumbled.

"Serge…its nothing major, I don't think we have to take them to the station" Watson shrugged at me. I looked at Brax before unlocking the hand cuffs.

"Before you go, I want to talk to you!" I pulled him away from ears reach of Watson and Heath. "If you want to continue what we have going on, you need to stop this!" I gritted my teeth at him.

"Come over tonight and we'll talk" He replied before walking back over to Heath.


	33. Chapter 33: Change

**Hello beautiful people! YAY NEW CHAPTER! This chapter starts where the last left off. How's everyone enjoying H&A being back?! YAY for new characters and our favourite Braxton Brothers back =)  
>Anywho's thanks for all the reviews!<strong>

**ENJOY XO**

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><p><strong>Chapter 33<strong>

Brax's Point of View

"I'm going to Bianca's feel free to invite your cop girlfriend over" Heath explained to me as he took a sandwich and left the house, slamming the door behind him.

"He gonna get over it eventually" Casey walked out and patted my shoulder.

"You're looking all dressed up?" I questioned Casey's attire.

"I'm taking Ruby out tonight, its our 3 month anniversary." He blushed with a smile.

"Good on ya mate!" I chuckled, giving him a quick hug.

"Well, I should be off…I'll see you later" He smirked, heading out the door. Within 5 minutes Charlie was over, walking through the front door, looking more angry than I had ever seen her.

"I nearly arrested you today! Hand cuffs and everything!" She shouted at me.

"Little bit kinky if you ask me" I tried to make a joke. She shook her head before storming closer to me.

"Things need to change if were going to keep seeing each other. You can't keep breaking the law and expecting me to look to the side while you cover up the mess you and your brother have gotten yourself into!" She looked at me seriously.

"I'm sorry Charlie, ok, but its too late for that, Heath's already going to prison for breaking his good behaviour bond!" I sighed. She looked at me before thinking.

"I can't guarantee anything, but I'll see if I can lower the charges or something" She started to pace the room.

"You serious Charlie?" I asked shocked. She would be willing to ruin her career just for me?

"I'm not doing this for you…I'm doing this for Bianca" She sighed. I gave her a look of confusion. "Bianca's pregnant" She looked at me sadly. "She going to need Heath, so it's about time he grew up…same with you!" She walked closer to me.

"Shit" I had no idea what to say. Heath was going to be a dad! I looked at Charlie's concerned eyes before wrapping my arms around her waist. "I'm sorry about today" I whispered, placing a hand on her cheek. "I promise, no more of that shit. Heath and I are going on the straight and narrow!" I told her sternly.

"Good" She whispered, reaching up and pecking my lips. "Now take off your clothes, I don't like it" She mumbled with a smirk.

"Not before we talk about what you told me this morning" I pulled away from her and looked at her seriously.

"After" She continued kissing at my neck.

"Charlie, you told me the girl who I thought was your sister is actually your daughter and she doesn't even know about it...that's a big deal!" I told her.

"Please Brax, right now at this very moment all I want to just to forget about that for half an hour, and just be with you" She put on the most adorable face. I looked at her before shaking my head.

"Fine" I chuckled before she giggled and jumped in my arms as I walked her into my bedroom. Soon enough our clothes were off and we were making out in my bed. "I am so… fucking… glad you… came to… Summer Bay" I mumbled between kisses. She rolled on top of me as we continued kissing.

"I…only came…for one thing…and I always…get…what I…want" She replied, trailing her kisses down my neck. I flipped her over and pinned her down to the bed. She was honestly the sexiest woman I had been with and I didn't want to stop being with her.

"Oh God, Charlie…yes" I moaned as our bodies came together as one, both overcome with euphoria. I smiled as I looked down at her beautiful face, her hair splayed out across my pillow and her gorgeous blue eyes, twinkling so brightly. I rolled off her and pulled her up close to me. "Now, can we talk about this morning?" I asked, kissing her hairline.

"I suppose so" She sighed. "I tried telling Ruby this morning after you left…but at the same time we were talking about Bianca being pregnant and Ruby told me how much she hates the idea of someone giving up a baby. That's exactly what I did to her Brax, I gave her up and I gave up on her" She cuddled up to me closer.

"I hate to say this Charlie, but she's going to be pissed off that you've lied to her for so long" I told her the truth.

"I know" She sighed, placing her chin on my chest and looking up at me. "You've taken this better than I thought you would" She smiled at me.

"What can I say…I'm a surprising man" I chuckled.

"That you are" She crawled up to me, placing a kiss on my lips, before lying on top of me.

"So Bianca's pregnant?" I asked, remembering what Charlie had said earlier.

"She's freaking out Brax. She is adamant that Heath isn't going to want to be a part of the baby's life. I'm going to support her as much as I can, but she needs Heath and I don't think he can handle it" She told me.

"Heath might just surprise us all" I sighed, hoping that he would. Charlie and I lay there in each others arms for a few silent moments before hearing a knock at the front door. Charlie looked up at me before getting off me. I quickly jumped out of bed and put my jeans back on, rushing towards the front door. "Bianca?" I seen the blonde woman standing there, tears running down her face.

"Is Charlie here?" I pulled her inside before Charlie walked out of the bedroom in only her underwear and my plaid shirt. Charlie enveloped Bianca into a hug, trying to comfort the crying girl.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Charlie held Bi's head to her shoulder before looking at me concerned.

"I told Heath and he left…he didn't say a word, just walked out" Bianca explained. I shook my head angrily before walking into my bedroom to get a shirt on and find her. I grabbed my phone only to notice a text from Heath saying:

"Meet me at the crop...I need to talk"

"I'm going to find Heath" I stormed out of the bedroom, looking at Charlie sitting on the sofa with Bianca.

"Please, just don't do anything stupid" Charlie practically pleaded with me.

"I'll try not to" I replied, reaching down and pecking her lips before leaving.


	34. Chapter 34: To family

**Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. Glad you are all liking this. This chapter is probably one of my favourites to write. I like thats its a close view at Heath and Brax's relationship. Anywho's thanks again. =)**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 34<span>**

Heath's Point of View

I walked into Bianca's house hoping to let off some steam after fighting with my brother practically all day. Its like he thought he could run my life, but got pissed off every time I took it into my own hands. He wasn't my father and he needed to stop acting like it.

"Hey babe" I smiled, walking through Bi's front door, only to find her on the couch holding something in her hands. I reached round to kiss her before she pulled away. I walked around confused and sat next to her. I could tell she was upset, the tears staining her face said it all. "What's up babe?" I asked. I looked down at the picture in her hand, before looking up at her face.

"We need to talk" She muttered. I looked at the picture again, taking in every detail from Bianca's name, to the date and to the small black and white blob that looked like a tiny alien; it was then I understood. "I'm 9 weeks pregnant Heath" She gave me the picture, trying not to cry. I looked into her eyes before down at the picture again, tracing over the lines and the detail of it. Her words were repeating over and over in my head before I stood up. I needed to get out of there, I needed to think; I needed my brother. "Heath?" a voice echoed, as I got lost in my thoughts. "Heath…I'm sorry!" She yelled as I walked out, grabbing my phone and texting Brax before getting in my ute and speeding off!

Brax's Point of View

I rushed into my ute and off towards the last crop we had in the national park. It had started to get dark, but I could see Heath standing at the edge of the crop with a beer in hand. I got out and carefully walked up to him, not sure of what state I'd find him in. He looked up at me before bending down and picking up a beer from the case he had at his feet, throwing it to me. "Thanks" I nodded before cracking it open. We stood there silently sipping our beers for a few moments before anyone said anything.

"I'm surprised the cops haven't found this one yet" Heath broke the silence, nodding towards the dope crop.

"Uh yeah" I was unsure at what he was getting at.

"Unless of course you've told ya girlfriend" He looked at me.

"Nah, of course not. I don't want her to be apart of this life" I replied, continuing to drink my beer. Things went silent for a few moments before Heath pulled something out of his pocket. He looked at the piece of paper before handing it to me.

"Bianca's pregnant" I looked at the ultrasound photo before sighing.

"Yeah I know…Charlie told me" I nodded, handing it back to him.

"Brax, I'm gonna be a dad…I don't know the first thing about being a dad!" He shouted before throwing his empty beer bottle into the crop. "You were the only father figure Case and I had in our lives…you've always looked after us, you got me and the boys into this business, you've got us into trouble and you've got us out of trouble, but I'm going to gaol Brax…no matter what happens, this kid is going to turn out exactly like me…and I don't want that…for my kid or for Bianca" Heath grabbed another beer and opened it.

"I talked to Charlie…she's going to see if she can get the charges dropped…but on one condition…you need to man up and be there for Bianca" I told my brother.

"This is my life Brax…the weed, the fights, the gang, surfing…this is my life, I've never known anything better, how am I meant to support a family on that?" He yelled at me.

"I'll get you out of this, you can come work at the restaurant…I'll figure something out" I assured him.

"Just like you always do Brax…once again good old Darryl comes to save the day" He spat at me.

"Well what else do you want me to do?! You're my brother, I'd do anything for you. You need to man the fuck up Heath and take responsibility for your actions! Its about time you grew up!" I shouted back. He looked at me seriously before shaking his head. "We need to go on the straight and narrow Heath…you've got Bianca and I've got Charlie now…we need to do this, if not for ourselves, for them" I lowered my voice and explained.

"You happy with your copper?" He asked.

"Yeah I am…the happiest I've been since…since Tegan" I told the truth. Heath knew better than anyone how destructive I was when Tegan died.

"You think it's going to be easy taking the straight and narrow life?" He asked.

"No, it's going to be fucking hard. We're so used to having the crop business to back us up money wise, but now all we can rely on is the restaurant…we just gotta get used to that" I finished my beer before taking another one. Heath nodded before looking out towards the crop.

"Let's burn it" He said before grabbing a tank of petrol from the back of his ute. I looked at him before chuckling.

"Let's burn it" I agreed as I watched him throw petrol over the crop that could have brought us in money for a year, about to get destroyed. After the petrol was gone, Heath got a lighter from out of his pocket and looked at me.

"You want to do the honours?" He asked, handing me the lighter. I lit the trail of petrol leading to the crop before stepping back with my brother and watched as the trail of fire made its way up to the large crop. We both looked at each other before smiling, watching the blaze in front of us. "To family" Heath held out his beer to be.

"To family" I clinked my glass with his as we watched our former life go up in smoke.


	35. Chapter 35: Support

**Hello! So I would just like to tell you all that I may not be adding as regularly as usual (not that I add very regularly to start with haha). I started TAFE and I'm there 4 days a week, which is killing me. The work load is huge so we'll see how much writing I get done. Thanks for all the lovely comments =)**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 35<strong>

Heath's Point of View

Brax had helped me figure out a few things and as soon as the fire had burned down most of the crop, we put it out, took away all the evidence that could have connected us to it and drove home. I was hoping Bianca would still be awake so I could talk to her properly. We got through the front door only to find Charlie cleaning up the kitchen and she didn't look impressed. "I hope you've come to fix this?" She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows at me.

"Yeah I have…where is she?" I chuckled.

"She just went to the bathroom to wash her face. She hasn't stopped crying since she got here!" Charlie glared at me. Bianca soon walked out and seen me before wiping away a few stray tears. I smiled before taking her hand and taking her into my bedroom.

"I'm sorry for walking out on you like that…I was in shock, you surprised me and I just wasn't ready for what you had to say. I was scared." I explained, sitting her on my bed.

"I'm sorry for just dropping it on you like that…I just, I just needed to tell you. I need your support Heath…and if I don't have it, that's fine…I'm still going to keep the baby, but please know, that I'm scared too" She nodded at me. I leant in and placed a kiss on her lips before breaking away from her, watching her smile.

"You have my full support, I promise. If I can some way get out of these assault charges, then this kid is going to have a real family…a proper mum and dad. I may not be ready to be a Dad, but I promise you that I'm going to try" I smiled, stroking her cheek. She smiled back before pecking my lips softly.

"And that's all I can ask for" She whispered back, placing her forehead against mine.

Charlie's Point of View

I watched as Brax and Heath walked through the front door. I was so angry at Heath for just walking out on Bianca. It just showed how immature he was and how unreliable he was. He needed to take responsibility for what he had done and I was going to try my best to fix the good behaviour bond problem so he could be there for Bianca. After my glaring contest with Heath, he took Bianca into his room to talk, only to leave Brax and I to our selves. Brax smiled at me before walking closer to me, putting his arms around my waist. "I believe when I left you were only wearing a shirt of mine and your underwear…and now you're fully dressed and cleaning my kitchen?" He chuckled.

"Well someone had to do it" I replied. "Why do you smell like smoke?" I asked curiously, noticing the strong smell of smoke that had wafted into the house with Heath and Brax.

"Oh it was nothing…Heath and I just went out bush and had a bit of a fire going while we were talking. I think I got through to him. He wants to turn his lift around…for Bianca, for the baby" Brax nodded at me, smiling. "I'm going to give him a job at the restaurant.

"You are really good brother, you know?" I replied seriously, snaking my arms around his neck.

"And I'm an even better boyfriend" He mumbled, placing a kiss on my neck.

"Boyfriend ay? Have we moved to that part of our relationship?" I asked, surprised, yet extremely happy that he had used that word.

"Fine, secret boyfriend" He whispered, nipping my ear. I giggled before leaning up and pecking his lips.

"Woah guys…um, I knew you guys had something going on, but I didn't realise it was this serious" Casey walked through the front door to find us kissing.

"Ah, hey mate…how was your date ay?" Brax asked, pulling away from me rather quickly.

"Yeah it was good…really good actually. I just dropped Ruby home, but I can go back next door if you two want a bit of privacy" Casey chuckled. "Please tell me Ruby knows about you two…cause I can't keep this from her" He smiled at both of us. Brax nodded before rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well I should probably go" I nodded, heading towards the front door.

"Actually Casey…Why don't you stay at Ruby's tonight…Charlie's staying the night here" Brax smirked, before rushing after me, throwing me over his shoulder.

"Brax!" I tried not to scream. I watched as Casey shook his head with a smile before leaving. Brax took me into his bedroom and put me down on his bed, crawling over me, before passionately kissing my lips. "Brax, you stink…go have a shower!" I mumbled, pulling away quickly.

"Fine" he groaned, taking his clothes off in front of me, standing there smirking at me before walking into the ensuite. I laughed before following him into the bathroom, ripping off my clothes and joining him in the shower.

"So you and Heath were gone for a while out there. You talk about a lot of stuff?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah we did actually" he pulled me closer to him as we stood under the water together. "He knows what he did was wrong…he's scared Charlie. He could spent the first years of kids life in prison…neither of us want that for him. He wants to be there for Bianca, but he's scared. Our father wasn't the greatest role model. He's still in prison and Heath and I have a lot of bad memories from him" Brax hugged me. "I think Heath is worried he'll turn out like our old man"

"I told you I'm going to try fix this" I pulled away and looked him in the eye.

"Yeah I know" He placed his forehead against mine before kissing my lips softly. We soon got out of the shower and headed to bed. To be perfectly honest we were both quite content on being in each other's arms rather than having sex. Brax made me feel wanted, he made me feel something I hadn't felt before; he made me feel loved.


	36. Chapter 36: Those 3 words

**Hello all! New Chapter! Thanks for all the comments and favourites =)**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong>Chapter 36<strong>

Charlie's Point of View

"Help me! Somebody help me! Tegan…please, someone help me! TEGAN PLEASE WAKE UP!" I woke up to screaming. I turned on the bedside lamp only to find Brax thrashing around in his sleep.

"Brax! Honey…wake up!" I tried to shake him, but his arm flung towards me, hitting me in the face.

"I heard yelling, what's going on?" A shirtless Heath suddenly rushed into the room. He seen Brax before looking at me clutching my cheek. "The nightmares have started again" Heath groaned before grabbing his brother by the shoulders and shaking him. "Brax! Wake the fuck up!" Heath yelled at him before Brax gasped and opened his eyes.

"Oh god…what happened?" He looked around confused.

"Just go back to sleep and stop ya screaming" Heath walked out of the room. Brax turned his head on his pillow and noticed me sitting there.

"Are you ok?" I placed my hands on his cheeks, noticing that he was sweating. He just looked at me in a panic. "Talk to me Brax" I reassured him.

"I hurt you…I'm sorry" He nodded towards my cheek.

"Doesn't matter Brax! You were dreaming about Tegan again weren't you?" I asked, looking him in the eye. He sat up against the bedhead and sighed.

"It's the same dream over and over again. It used to happen a lot when she first died…which is why I used to drink a lot so that I wouldn't dream at all. But it's started happening again. I find her in her car and there is just so much blood and I'm screaming for help but no one comes and she just won't wake up no matter how hard I try!" He explained in frustration.

"Have you thought about talking to a counsellor?" I suggested, holding his hand in mine.

"I'm not into that kind of shit Charlie…it went away last time and it'll go away this time" He pulled away before lying back down. I laid down next to him, watching him stare at the ceiling.

"There is nothing you could have done to save her Brax" I spoke gently.

"I could have stopped her going in the first place" He rolled over and faced the other side of the room.

The next morning

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing along with Brax mumbling for me to turn it off. I grabbed my mobile off the bedside table and answered it quickly. "Hello?"

"Hey Charlie, Its Watson…we've found a suspicious burnt out fire that must have taken place last night. I think you'll want to come and have a look at this" Watson spoke quickly.

"Yep, I'll be straight in" I hung up on her before sighing. I looked over at Brax who was looking up at me, with a small smile.

"Work?" He asked, rubbing the small of my back.

"Yeah…I have to go in" I looked at his blood and sand tattoo before looking up into his eyes.

"I'm sorry about last night Charlie" His smile soon changed.

"Its fine…just remember you can talk to me about anything" I told him, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on his lips. "Brax I've got to go…I love you" I broke away from the kiss and told him the truth. He looked at me before giving me a small smile.

"Yeah" He replied, before I got out of bed. Yeah? What was that supposed to mean? Did he not feel the same way about me? Before I had time to even bring it up with him I rushed out of the house, threw on my work gear and headed off to Yabbie Creek.

"So a bushwalker came in early this morning and told us he had found a burnt out fire in the national park that he wanted us to take a look at…turns out it was more than just a little bit of bushland that had been burnt down" Watson told me seriously as we headed into the national park and parked the car along side a forensics team. As soon as I got out of the car I could see the plants that had been burnt down.

"A dope crop" I shook my head and looked around. The smell of the smoke took me back to last night when Brax and Heath walked into the house. Brax had told me they had a fire going while they talked. Could he have lied to me? It seemed like too odd of a coincidence that this crop had been burnt down and Brax had smelt of smoke when he came home. "Any evidence?" I asked, starting to get annoyed at myself for ever believing him.

"Nope, nothing, all we know is it was started by petrol" One of the forensic officers replied to me.

"Either someone has burnt this down for revenge or someone has burnt down their own crop…but why would someone do that?" Watson looked at me baffled.

"No idea, but I plan to find out!" I stormed off back to the car.

Brax's point of view

Heath and I were setting up for the lunch shift when Charlie stormed into the restaurant, police uniform on and all. I smiled at her before Heath and I both realised she wasn't in a good mood. "I'm just going to check out the surf" Heath looked at me before leaving.

"So I get to work this morning only to find out that we're heading out to a fire site in the national park!" She started. "You're never going to believe what we found when we got there!" She was being sarcastic. I didn't like where this was going.

"Whatcha find?" I acted busy.

"Why don't you tell me Brax!" She shouted at me.

"I don't know what ya talking about Charlie!" I shrugged.

"Oh stop with the bull shit Brax! I know it was you and Heath that burnt that crop! Stop lying to me! You really think I wouldn't figure it out when you both came home smelling of smoke!" She continued yelling.

"What do you want me to say Charlie? Yeah it was us!" I started. She shook her head before she started pacing. "I promise you it was the last of it. We got rid of it to start a new life, with you and Bianca!" I tried to reason with her.

"How can I believe you?! You lied to me! I can't believe I told you I loved you…oh and by the way thanks for the reply to that… 'Yeah'…you are absolute scum!" She was trying not to cry.

"See that's the problem right there!" I pointed and got her attention. "Its those 3 little words that make this complicated relationship even more complicated" I spat at her. I was angry that she hadn't let me explain. Yes I had lied to her, but it was because I wanted to be with her. She knew I wasn't good with my feelings or my words, yet she dropt a bomb shell on me when she let that slip this morning!

"Oh our relationship is complicated huh? Well let me uncomplicated it…this, us…we're through!" She yelled before storming out.

"FUUUUCCKKK!" I screamed in anger, throwing cutlery to the floor. I had just let the best thing hat had happened to me, walk out. I was an idiot!


	37. Chapter 37: Walking away

**Long time no see. Sorry guys! Here's a short chapter for you =)**  
><strong>Thanks for sticking with this.<strong>

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 37<span>**

Ruby's Point of view

I got home from school only to find Charlie in her room, lying on her bed. "What's up?" I asked, lying next to her only to find that she was crying.

"Brax and I are over" She mumbled, wiping away her tears.

"Aww Charlie, what happened?" I asked her.

"It doesn't matter, all that matters is that I got attached and never again will I do that" She replied strongly.

"Well how about we order in some food, eat ice cream and watch all the girly movies we can find" I smiled, hugging her tightly. I heard her chuckle before we broke away and headed out to the living room only to find Bianca kissing Heath. They soon seen us before Heath left and Bianca looked closer at Charlie.

"Charlie…talk now" Bianca hugged her tightly. I left the best friends to talk while I went down to Angelo's to have a word to Brax.

"Hey Rubes, what can I help you with?" He asked with a smile as I stormed in.

"You can help by telling me why I came home to find my sister crying in her bedroom?" I asked sarcastically. Brax ground his teeth awkwardly.

"I think you need to talk to Charlie about that" He turned away.

"Well she's not saying anything so why don't you tell me" I said angrily.

"I cant…"

"My sister…!"

"Your sister" He laughed before looking at me.

"What's that suppose to mean?" I asked confused.

"Nothing. Your sister and I were never going to work…we both should have realised that from the start" He shook his head.

"SHE LOVED YOU! She may have not told me that but I could tell! I had never seen her so happy, even before Dad got sick. She trusted you…and Charlie doesn't trust just anyone. So what ever you did…you need to fix it!" I yelled at him before storming out.

Charlie's point of view

"Is this about the crop fire?" Bianca asked as soon as Ruby had left.

"You knew about that?" I asked shocked.

"Yeah Heath told me straight away, he said he didn't want to lie to me and he did it so he could start a new life with the baby and I" Bianca nodded.

"Well I'm glad you have that type of relationship…apparently Brax thought it was alright to lie to me about it. I told him I loved him this morning and then we started fighting and he basically told me that I complicated the relationship up even more because I told him that" I confided in Bianca.

"Aww Charlie" She hugged me.

"It wasn't meant to be…we both knew that" I tried not to cry. Bianca looked at me sceptically. "I got caught up in it, I got attached, I trusted to easily and I was ready to commit and he obviously wasn't" I let out.

"Charlie…Brax is a guy, he doesn't know how to express his feelings" She chuckled, hugging me again. "Now, ice cream and movies when Ruby and April get home" She smiled before we walked into the kitchen. Soon enough both the girls we home and we had started our girly binge and headed late into the night when a knock was heard on the door. Bianca got up and answered it only to find Brax standing there. "I think its for you" She looked at me.

"Can we talk?" He asked. What was I meant to say? 'No, piss off, I never want to talk to you again'? I walked over to him and out onto the front porch before closing the front door behind me.

"What do you want to talk about?" I asked, bluntly. He just stood there silently, looking at anywhere but me.

"I'm sorry about what happened today ay" He nodded.

"Yep" I nodded, not believing a single word, coming from his mouth.

"Come on Charlie…don't be like that" He sook his head at me.

"This is what I don't understand Brax…Heath, was able to tell Bianca straight away about what happened, but you had to lie to me about it" I shook my head.

"You still going to try lower the charges on Heath?" He asked suddenly.

"Oh wow…is that why you wanted to talk to me?! To see that I was still getting your brother out of trouble! Well I already did get the charges lowered to a fine and I did that because my best friend is having your brother's baby and not because we were fucking!" I shouted at him.

"Is that what we we're doing…we were fucking? So you didn't love me?" He smirked.

"Of course I love you Brax!" I spat back. He nodded his head. "Just go Brax, you obviously only came here to start shit, so just leave, please." I turned to walk inside.

"I'm not good with all this shit…feelings and words. I just can't express how I feel sometimes. I know that's not what you want to hear but I'm sorry" I heard. I turned and looked at him.

"You're right, that's not what I want to hear. What I want to hear is your footsteps walking away" I tried not to cry before walking inside.


	38. Chapter 38: Leap of faith

**Hello lovelies! Reasonably long chapter for you guys! Thanks for all the support! **

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 38<strong>

_The next morning._

Brax's point of view

I was running in from the surf when I seen Charlie jogging along the beach. Of course she totally snubbed me and kept running. "I'm assuming, you and Buckton aren't on good terms?" Heath had followed me out and seen this.

"You could say that" I shrugged.

"Whatcha do to make her so pissed off?" He chuckled.

"Didn't tell her about the crop…when she found out she went ballistic" I told my brother as we walked up the beach, towards the surf club.

"And people say I'm the dumb brother!" Heath shook his head. "I even told Bianca about it…no more lies between us" He continued.

"Yeah if you don't mind I'd rather not take advice from you. I'll sort it all out myself" I snapped before walking off.

"So you and Charlie didn't sort things out" Ruby was waiting for me in the restaurant.

"I tried" I walked past her and behind the bar.

"No you didn't, you hardly tried! You are both as stubborn as each other!" Ruby got off the stool and went to leave.

"You are exactly like your mother" I mumbled under my breath as I watched her walk down the stairs.

Ruby's point of view

"Case, we need a plan to get the two of them back together! Charlie is just going to turn into a miserable old cat woman and Brax is going to turn back to all the bad stuff he used to do" I sighed as Casey and I both walked to school.

"If only we could look them in a room together and not let them out until they sort thing out" Casey suggested.

"YOU'RE A GENIUS!" I smiled before jumping up and kissing him. I had an idea.

_That night._

"Charlie…can you please come and pick me up from Angelo's…Casey and I…we had a fight" I tried my best to put on a fake cry.

"Oh sure honey! I'll be there in a couple of minutes" Charlie sounded all sympathetic.

"She fell for it!" I smiled at Casey as I hung up and tried to get our plan underway. Before Charlie got here my plan was to lure Brax out onto the balcony, then when Charlie arrived Casey would tell her that I was on the balcony getting some fresh air. Charlie would walk out and then I would rush back in and lock the glass doors leaving them out there until they sorted out their differences. "Brax can I talk to you?" I walked up towards the bar and pointed to the balcony.

"Um sure" he shook his head confused as we walked out to the balcony together.

Charlie's Point of View

As soon as Ruby had called I rushed down to Angelo's, to make sure she was all right. The Braxton brothers needed to stay away from my family, all they did was hurt people and I knew Bianca would be next. "Ruby?" I rushed upstairs only to find Casey pacing. "Where is she? What did you do to her?" I asked angrily, not seeing her anywhere.

"She's on the balcony, she needed some air" He pointed towards the glass doors. I walked out only to find Ruby and Brax talking.

"Ruby? Are you ok?" I rushed over to her and hugged her.

"Yeah I'm fine…but you two on the other hand have stuff you need to sort out" She quickly broke away from me and rushed inside, closing the glass doors and locking them, before smiling and waving at us.

"RUBY!" Brax yelled before seeing Casey walk up behind her smiling. "Casey…open this door right now!" Brax bashed on the door.

"Not until you two sort everything out!" Casey smirked.

"I'm going to kill her!" I mumbled, shaking my head at the smiling, evil girl. "Did you know about this?" I asked Brax, wondering if he had anything to do with it.

"Do you really think I'd be that immature to pull a stunt like this?!" He looked at me like I was stupid.

"I honestly don't know Brax!" I shouted. Ruby and Casey closed the blinds on us as we started to fight.

"Look Charlie, I don't want to fight!" He gave up on banging on the doors.

"Just tell me something Brax, did you really think that me telling you I loved you complicated things between us?" I asked seriously. He looked out towards the ocean then at me.

"I don't know…I was angry with you Charlie, I was angry with myself! I don't know what I meant and didn't mean." He said in frustration. "The reason why I said 'yeah' when you told me because I was in shock! No one has said they loved me since Tegan and even then I was so hesitant to say it back! I was in shock Charlie; I didn't think anyone would say those 3 words to me again" He sighed. I looked at him before shaking my head.

"Ok so tell me why you lied to me about the fire?" I continued with the questions.

"I was worried about how you would react. I didn't want you thinking I was getting into all that stuff again. I've tried so hard to get my boys and my family out of this life I led them into, ever since I met you. At first it was because I didn't want to get arrested but then it was because I wanted to be with you." He gave me a small smile. I turned around and paced.

"You still lied to me" I mumbled.

"Oh don't talk to me about lying! You've been lying to Ruby her whole life!" He practically yelled. I quickly pushed my hand over his mouth.

"Shut up!" I spat at him through gritted teeth, worried, Casey and Rubes were listening on the other side of the doors.

"Make me!" He grinned. I pulled my hand away in disgust before walking away from him.

"How are we going to get inside?" I sighed, looking at the thick glass doors.

"Kiss and make up?" He suggested with a smirk.

"In your dreams" I snapped back at him. He just stopped and looked at me before smiling. "What?" I asked.

"When did you realise you were in love with me?" I stopped and looked at him wide eyed. "Seriously, tell me" He chuckled

"The exact moment?" I asked.

"The exact moment" He moved closer to me.

"I suppose it was the night you told me that I made you want to become a better person" I nodded strongly.

"Interesting" He smirked.

"How?" I asked confused.

"Because turns out I fell in love with you the morning after" He chuckled.

"How convenient" I replied back sarcastically.

"Fine, don't believe me, but believe this Charlie…when you opened up to me about Ruby and your rape, I realised that we needed each other because we are just as fucking up as each other! Charlie, I have nightmares about my dead ex girlfriend and you have kept a huge secret from your daughter her entire life! We are both as broken and damaged as each other! And Charlie…I love you because of that" He shouted at me.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?!" I yelled back.

"Because I'm a guy and I'm afraid of showing my actual feelings…and because I'm idiot and I thought you'd never feel the same way about me! When you told me you loved me, I froze up and I got nervous and I just didn't know what to say and I'm sorry…but this is me telling you now…Charlie, I fucking love you" He chuckled. I couldn't help but laugh back at him.

"For a guy who's not good at expressing his feelings, you sure are doing a good job right now" I laughed as I stood there. "Now that we've sorted all that out can we go?" I went to go knock on the door.

"Wait!" Brax stopped me. "I have an even better idea, to get back at these kids!" He smirked before walking over to the balcony.

"You're not going to jump are you?" I asked. He just nodded.

"Its not that far down! I'll jump down first and then you can jump down and I'll catch you" He sounded so sure of himself. Before I knew it Brax had flung himself over the side of the balcony and landed on his feet perfectly.

"You are crazy!" I yelled down to him.

"Charlie, just jump and I'll catch you…trust me!" He smiled up at me.

"I don't trust you, that's the problem!" I told him.

"Isn't loving someone about trusting them?" He replied like a smart arse. I shook my head with a smile before climbing over the edge and looking down.

"I can't do this Brax!" I closed my eyes.

"Yes you can, Charlie, you're a cop, you take risks every day…you took a risk with me and did it pay off? Maybe not right now, but just trust me when I say I will catch you!" He laughed.

"OK, fine…on 3 I'll jump…1…..2….3!" I took the leap only for Brax to catch me, before falling to the ground.

"See, not so hard?" He chuckled, looking up at me.

"Thanks" I quickly got off him. "Well I'll see you around then" I went to leave.

"Charlie…what are we? We just got so much out in the open and now you're running away from it all?" Brax raced after me.

"Brax, we are nothing. We are too people that can't be together, no matter how much they love one another…I'm sorry" I leant up and kissed his cheek before rushing off to my car.


	39. Chapter 39: Failed plan overview

**I apologise, this is an extremely short chapter! I might add the next chapter when I get home from work though. It should be a lot longer haha.**  
><strong>Thanks to everyone who still reads this =D<strong>

**Enjoy xo**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 39<span>**

Charlie's Point of view

I had been sitting at home telling Bianca about my eventful night when Ruby walked in the door looking extremely pissed off. "How long have you been home for?" She stormed in.

"Roughly 45 minutes" Bianca answered for me as we both tried not to laugh.

"Charlie all I want is for you to be happy, that's all I wanted! You have no idea how much happier you are with Brax! Everyone can see it and we all want you together!" She yelled at me.

"Rubes…it's much more complicated than you think. It's my life and I'll figure it all out eventually" I smiled at her.

"Well did you at least sort things out before you flung yourself off the balcony?" She sighed as she flopped in an arm chair.

"We did actually…we got a lot of stuff out in the open, but we've decided to stay apart. We only left like that to get back at you and Casey" I continued laughing with Bianca.

"That is exactly why you guys should just get back together" She rolled her eyes before walking off in a huff.

Brax's Point of View

I was glad Charlie and I had gotten everything out in the open. I'm glad I had told her how I really felt and I suppose I could respect her decision not to get back together. It was just going to take some time. I was leaning against the kitchen bench sipping a beer when Casey walked in. "And where the hell have you been?" I smirked. He glared at me before walking over.

"Rubes and I were standing there for ages before we realised you two had pissed off!" He snapped, getting some left over pizza from the fridge.

"Hey, you guys were the ones who came up with the plan to lock us out in the first place! You have to face the consequences" I chuckled.

"I suggested the idea of locking you two in a room as a joke…lets just say Ruby took all creative control from there" Case chuckled back.

"Well I can see who wears the pants in your relationship" I smirked, walking into the living room and flopping on the couch.

"Well I know you and Charlie hardly ever wore pants during your relationship…if that's what you want to call it" Casey laughed as he walked in and sat next to me on the couch.

"Oh harsh bro!" I punched his arm playfully.

"So did you guys actually talk or could you not stand the sight of each other and jumped off straight away?" Casey asked.

"The other morning Charlie told me she loved me and I didn't say it back, mainly because I was an idiot and scared and just downright stupid…so I told her I loved her and I told her why I loved her and she said we still couldn't be together, so I'm going to respect that" I nodded seriously, confiding in my brother.

"I assuming I'm not allowed to tell Ruby this?" He replied.

"No way are you allowed to tell Ruby this!" I chuckled back as Casey and I started playing the playstation and spending some quality time together.


	40. Chapter 40:A photo says a thousand words

**Thanks for the reviews guys =)**

**Enjoy xo**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 40<span>**

_2 weeks later_

Charlie's Point of View

I was finishing off some paperwork in my office when Watson walked in. "You still in for my birthday drinks tonight?" She grinned excitedly.

"Of course! First rounds on me!" I chuckled back.

"Awesome! I'll see you at Angelo's at 7" She laughed before walking out. When she'd originally told me about going out for her birthday I was a bit hesitant about going to Angelo's and having to see Brax, but I hadn't seen him in 2 weeks, which was doing me the world of good. After work I got home to find a note from Ruby saying she was studying at Casey's tonight and was staying over there. Bianca I was assuming was with Heath somewhere and April with Dex most likely. I had decided to wear just a casual pair of high waisted black shorts, a white lose fitting singlet top with a dark grey blazer over the top, along with a pair of black heels.

"Wow! Where are you going tonight?" Bianca and Heath walked through the door.

"Just a friend from works birthday. I don't plan on drinking too much so I shouldn't be home too late" I hugged her before hearing the taxi pull up out the front. "Bye" I called out before leaving.

I arrived at Angelo's to find all my work friends there, along with Brax who was staring straight at me. I said my hellos to everyone before heading to the bar. "Hey" I gave him a small smile.

"Hey…what can I get ya?" He asked, looking anywhere but me. He was trying to avoid me as much as I was trying to avoid him.

"I'll just get a glass of the house white wine thanks" I nodded. I watched as he quickly got me a glass and poured the wine before handing it to me.

"Its on the house" He nodded before refusing to take my money. "You look really nice tonight Charlie" He looked me straight in the eye.

"Thanks" I could feel myself blushing before walking away.

Brax's Point of View

I hadn't seen or spoken to Charlie since the balcony situation, which I suppose was a good thing. But when I seen her walk in that night everything came rushing back. Why did she have to be so god damn gorgeous! I had to stop staring but after she came to the bar and her perfume wafted all around me, I couldn't help it. The way her hips moved in time with the music, the way she smiled as she talked and laughed with her friends; I loved every part of her, yet she wouldn't let us be together and how could I accept that when she was just flaunting herself in front of me!

"Can I please get a vodka orange juice pleeeeease!" A voice broke me away from my paper work. I looked up to find Charlie smiling at me, obviously tipsy.

"You just said please twice" I chuckled before making her drink.

"That just means I'm doubly as polite" She giggled. "Thank you Mr Bar tender" She spun off to dance with her friends. The party was soon wrapping up and everyone had started to leave, along with Charlie. While cleaning up I noticed a clutch bag in one of the booths before picking it up. "Heeeeeeey…did I leave my bag in here?" A voice grabbed my attention. I looked up to only to see Charlie walking towards me.

"I'm assuming this is it?" I handed it to her.

"Yeah it is…thanks." She laughed. She had definitely had a little too much to drink tonight.

"You grabbing a taxi home?" I asked, sweeping the floor.

"No, it's a beautiful night to walk home" She twirled around, still smiling.

"Nah Charlie, let me give you a lift, you shouldn't be walking home" I nodded at her. She stopped twirling and nearly fell over. "Prime example" I chuckled.

"I really did have too much to drink didn't I" She sighed. She wasn't as drunk as she was on her birthday but she was not far off it. "I told Bianca I wasn't going to drink a lot" She sat down and looked at me.

"You had fun Charlie and that's all that matters" I nodded, finishing up the sweeping. "Now, lets get you down to the car" I handed her some left over pizzas to carry before locking up and walking her down the stairs and out of the surf club. The car ride consisted of Charlie talking about how much fun she had tonight until we pulled into her driveway. "Well this is you" I stopped the car. Charlie smiled and looked at me cheekily. "What?" I asked with a grin.

"Just….you" She smiled. Before I knew it she was leaning up and kissing my lips, rather passionately.

"Charlie…Cha…mmm…Charlie…." I tried to pull away as she was now straddling my lap in the drivers seat and putting the pizzas to the side, cupping my cheeks. I saw a sudden flash of light outside before breaking away from her abruptly. "Did you see that? I think it was lightning." I looked out both the windows.

"Who cares" She mumbled, placing kisses on my neck.

"Charlie…stop…come on! You're drunk…I think I better get you inside." I pushed her shoulders away from me a little. She sighed before opening the door and practically stumbling off my lap. I grabbed the pizzas and her bag before following her out and to her front door.

Hayley's Point of View

After tending to a client in Yabbie Creek, I had decided to pop in and see if I could stay at the Braxton's rather than taking the long drive back to the city. Brax and I had a good connection and knew he would be more than accommodating. I pulled up out the front of the house only to find Brax's ute in the next driveway. Getting out of the car I looked over only to find Charlie Buckton and Brax practically making out in the car. Quickly getting my phone out I took a photo. "Shit!" I whispered as the flash went off, quickly and running behind my car. I crouched down and took a look at my phone. Perfect incriminating photo of Sergeant Buckton with a river boy!


	41. Chapter 41: Not what it looks like

******Hey guys, so sorry for the major delay. I've been pretty bogged down with assignments and exams and this chapter has been sitting, waiting to get edited for a while! So it just takes place from where we last left off. Thanks for sticking by this! **

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 41<strong>

Brax's Point of view

I walked Charlie into her room before watching her flop on her bed. "You right now?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. She sat up on her knees and looked at me, draping her hands around my neck.

"With you here I'll be fine" She giggled.

"Charlie stop!" I took her hands from around my neck and threw them off me. "You were the one who said we couldn't be together, so stick to your part of the deal" I told her seriously.

"I have no idea what deal you're talking about" She smirked, standing on the bed and taking off her shorts along with her top before falling back onto the bed giggling.

"I'm out Charlie. Hope you had a good night" I left, feeling pretty annoyed. I got that she was drunk, but didn't mean she had to play games with me.

"Wait Braxxy!" She called out, pulling my arm back towards her as I walked into the living room. "I'm sorry" She put on her best puppy dog eyes.

"Charlie I gotta go" I sighed.

"Just stay…please. I want you too" She smiled at me. That smile, those lips, the way her hair hung so flatteringly around her face and those eyes; each of these things were dragging me in, telling me to stay.

"Fine" I gave in before Charlie jumped up on me, wrapping her legs around my waist. I looked into her eyes as I placed my hands on her bare thighs. I took her into her bedroom and placed her gently on the bed before lying down next to her.

"You've seen me drunk way too many times!" She turned and looked at me, dancing her fingers across my clothed chest.

"That is true!" I couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm sorry I kissed you." She mumbled. I just looked at her as she continued swirling her fingers, now over the tattooed words on my right arm. She suddenly sat up and grabbed the pizza box I had left on the end of her bed. "Man, I am so hungry!" She groaned, opening the box and tucking into the pizza. I couldn't help but laugh back as I looked at the ceiling "Not going to lie…I've missed this" She said with a mouthful off food.

"The pizza or me?" I asked confused.

"The pizza of course, dumby!" She continued eating. "But I've missed you too" She laughed, taking my hand and holding it. I looked down at our hands before looking at her staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah me too" I sighed.

"You've missed you too?" She chuckled.

"Oh aren't you just the comic genius!" I smirked. I liked how she got playful when she'd had a few to drink.

"You'd think this would be some sort of dream of yours. Girl with hardly any clothes on eating pizza in front of you" She joked around.

"This is what dreams are made off" I chuckled, wrapping an arm around her practically bare shoulders and pulling her close to me.

"You better believe it" She sighed, finishing off her pizza and snuggling up to me.

Charlie's Point of View

I could feel the heat of the sunshine on my bare back as I cuddled up closer to the warmth of the body next to me. "Charlie…Charlie" I could hear a whispered along with a hand, on my back, tracing circles. I opened my eyes slowly only to find Brax staring at me. "How you feeling?" He asked with a small smile.

"A lot better than last time and this time I remember most things!" I chuckled, stretching out to wake myself up.

"Well I should go…I have to open up the restaurant" He got off my bed awkwardly and looked down at me.

"Um yeah…thanks for last night and sorry for…everything" I got out of bed and nodded at him. He just nodded back before I followed him out of my bedroom only to be met with Heath and Bianca.

"Well, well well…what do we have here? Caught red handed" Heath chuckled, noticing me still in my underwear.

"Its not what it looks like" I justified myself, before looking at Brax, who was moving out the front door nearly as fast as I was closing my bedroom door.


	42. Chapter 42: Father unknown

**Just carrying on from the last chapter! Thanks to the people who are still with this! =)**

**Enjoy xo**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 42<strong>

Brax's Point of View

I got out of there as fast as I could, as soon as I seen Heath standing there. What was I thinking? I should have dropped her off and gone straight home! I got to my front door only to find Hayley standing there smiling. I hadn't seen her since Heath's court case and I was hoping that's the last I would have seen of her. "Hayley…what you doing here?" I asked before realising how unwelcoming I was sounding.

"Oh I was just in town. Thought I'd drop in. See how the family was. I actually came over last night but you weren't home… your car was next door though" She spoke.

"Um yeah, Heath borrowed my car. He was staying over at Bianca's house" I quickly came up with an excuse before nodding my head. She gave me a small smile and nodded back before I went to open my front door. "I actually have to get ready for work now, so if that's it?" I questioned if she had any other motives as to being here. First time we met a couple of years back we had a bit of a fling, but it was nothing too serious. I could tell she had been trying to go back to that time, every time I seen her.

"Um, yeah…that's it. I suppose I'll see you round…I've got a few clients in Yabbie Creek, so I'll be around for a while" She gave me a smile that put me on edge before walking off towards her car. I don't know what it was about her, but there was something that I didn't trust about that girl, perhaps the fact that she was a lawyer.

Charlie's Point of View

As soon as I closed my bedroom door I realised what a mistake I had made, letting Brax stay over last night. There was no way in this reality that we could be together again. There was too much at risk. My career, his family, my daughter, the cons were starting to outweigh the pros and I don't know how I didn't see all this before. I suppose the excitement of sneaking around with a gorgeous man clouded my better judgement. But right now it was fully clear and making me realise what a mistake coming to summer bay had been. I quickly had a shower before sitting on my bed thinking about the past couple of months. "Charlie?" A soft voice dragged me back from my thoughts. I looked up to see Ruby staring at me from the door.

"Hey…what's up?" I pushed out a small smile.

"Are you ok?" She asked, walking in and sitting on my bed next to me. She was dressed in her school uniform, obviously getting ready to leave.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I nodded, looking into her eyes. She was the one thing in my life that I had done right. Giving her up was the right thing for both of us, no matter how much it hurt me then and how much it would hurt her in the future. "You know I love you right?" I looked at her before seeing her smile.

"Yeah I know" She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

"Good" I kissed her forehead before she pulled away.

"What I wanted to ask Charlie, admin at school called me up to the office yesterday, apparently they don't have a copy of my birthday certificate and they need it to put on file" She told me seriously.

"Oh yeah sure" I got up from the bed and opened my wardrobe, pulled down a small file box and opening the lid. I sifted through it before pulling out a file marked birth certificates and important documents. Pulling Ruby's birth certificate out, I looked at it before noticing...

_'Mother: Charlotte Buckton. Age: 15 Occupation: Student.  
>Father: Unknown'<em>

"Actually Ruby, its not in here. This is mine. It could be in another box. I'll find it for you today" I nodded.

"Oh ok" She smiled. "I should get going then. I'll see you this afternoon. Love you" She kissed my cheek before heading out. I could help but cry as soon as she left. Her birth certificate would only hurt her and I couldn't do that to her right now. A knock on my window scared me, before Brax climbed through. I quickly put the files away and wiped away my tears before he walked over and smiled at me.

"Um, you could have used the door" I chuckled.

"Ah yeah" He rubbed the back of his neck, like he did when he was uncomfortable. This body language along with the grinding teeth he did, let me know something was up. "I just wanted to clarify that last night, was nothing, ay. I was just meant to drop you home and that's all I should have done" He nodded.

"Yeah I totally understand. I shouldn't have drunk that much. Sorry. You were just being friendly and neighbourly and I appreciate that. Its not like we slept together" I nodded back.

"Well we did sleep together…just not…_sleep_ together" He chuckled slightly. I looked at him seriously. "Well I should go…leave you to it. Have a good day" He jumped back out the window, nearly as quickly as he came through it. That would have to be the most awkward conversation I had ever had with Brax and I didn't like it one bit. After spending the rest of the day cleaning the house and trying to push Brax and Ruby to the back of my mind I went for a walk to clear my head completely. Looking out towards the beach I noticed the dark clouds rolling in quickly, along with the waves crashing in fiercely. A storm in Summer Bay; I thought I'd never see the day. The sound of the waves brought me some solace but there was no way any of the mistakes I had made were shifting anytime soon. I could feel the rain starting to sprinkle as I started to head home. Walking through the door I noticed Ruby's school bag at the front door.

"You home early Rubes?" I yelled out before walking into my bedroom only to find Ruby sitting on the bed crying. She seen me before standing up and waving a piece of paper in my face before screwing it up and throwing it at my feet.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME?!" She was hysterical. I picked up the balled paper and pulled it apart carefully, looking at the words I had seen earlier in the day. "HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME…MUM!" She screamed.


	43. Chapter 43: Searching

**Thanks you for the reviews and messages! New chapter! Enjoy xo  
><strong>

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 43<span>**

Charlie's Point of View

_"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME?!" She was hysterical. I picked up the balled paper and pulled it apart carefully, looking at the words I had seen earlier in the day. "HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME…MUM!" She screamed._

"Ruby…listen to me, please. I'm so sorry" The tears were now pouring down my face as I watched her tear through my room in rage.

"Listen to you! I've been listening to you my whole life! I though you were my big sister, but turns out that you're my mother. The teen mum who couldn't hack it, so she gave the responsibility to her parents…did I get that correct?!" She yelled through tears.

"Ruby I'm so sorry! I was so young! Mum and Dad thought it would be best this way!"

"YOU LIED TO ME CHARLIE, MUM AND DAD…OR SHOULD I CALL THEM GRANDMA AND GRANDPA…THEY LIED TO ME! MY WHOLE LIFE HAS BEEN A LIE!" She continued yelling.

"Ruby, please let me explain" I pleaded with her.

"Charlie, nothing you can say will ever fix this!" She stormed out of the room and out of the house. She just needed time, she just needed to calm down and then she'd come back and let me tell her everything. I should have told her earlier. I should have been there for her.

Ruby's Point of View

My sister was my mother. How could someone keep a secret that big for so long? I just didn't understand how she could have lied to me for so long. I couldn't stand there while she lied to me more. The words 'Father: Unknown' kept racing through my head. Charlie either didn't know who my father was or she just didn't want to put it down. Did he even know I existed? Or maybe he just didn't want to be involved in my life. Charlie was 15 when she had me…barely a teenager and she gave me up. In a way I understood, but I would have understood better if she hadn't have lied to me. I felt like my life was over. I needed to get out of here, to clear my head, to run.

Charlie's Point of view

"Bianca, she's been gone for hours, it's getting dark! I need her home!" I had been pacing the living room for the last hour, calling her phone every 5 minutes.

"Charlie, she'll come home…you need to stop worrying" Bianca tried to reassure me.

"I need to go look for her. What if she's hurt or something? I don't even know if she took her insulin!" I started to panic.

"You need to calm down" Bi stood up and looked at me.

"No, I'm going to look for her. I don't want her to get caught in this storm" I looked out the window to see it sprinkling lightly.

"Ok, well if she comes home I'll call you straight away!" Bianca hugged me. I grabbed a jacket and my phone before racing out the door and walking towards the beach.

Brax's Point of View

I got out of Angelo's only to find it heavily raining. I ran over to my car before noticing Charlie looking around at the surf club. "Charlie!" I yelled out to get her attention. She seen me and ran over.

"Have you seen Ruby?" It may have been raining and dark but I could tell she'd been crying.

"No, why?" I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"She found out Brax! She found her birth certificate and started yelling at me about it and before I had a chance to say anything she ran off" Charlie said rushed. I quickly pulled her into a very rain drenched hug.

"Get in the car, we'll have a drive around" I suggested, opening the door of my ute for her. She hopped inside, before I got in the other side and went to start it up. I turned on the headlights as we drove around in silence, stopping at Leah's, Irene's and the caravan park so Charlie could ask if anyone had seen Ruby. The rain was getting heavier and the thunder and lightning was getting constant. We were having no luck finding her.

"I hope she's not caught in this" Charlie broke the silence as she hopped in the car outside the caravan park.

"Maybe she just needs some space right now" I suggested.

"I should have told her" Charlie sighed, leaning back into the seat.

"Not going to disagree, you should have, but Charlie, I understand why you did it. You were 14 when you got pregnant…you were still a child and some guy just…" I was getting angry at the thought of someone taking advantage of Charlie. I looked over to find Charlie staring at me, before she took my hand.

"Brax, its fine" She reassured me.

"No Charlie its not. I swear to god if I ever found the jerk who did that to you, I will…"

"Well he's long gone Brax, so just drop it…please!" She was begging me. I know she hated talking about this, but she needed to or it would continue to cut her up inside.

"NO! Did this bastard even know you were pregnant? Did he know how much he hurt you?" I continued with the questions.

"DROP IT!" She burst into tears before hopping out of the car and into the rain. I quickly got out and ran after her.

"ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID! YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED, GET BACK IN THE CAR!" I screamed at her, racing after her.

"I don't want to talk about this Brax!" She yelled. I grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the car as she cried hysterically.

"I'm taking you home" I brushed my hand through my soaking wet hair as I started the car and drove carefully back to my house. We got out of the car and I took her hand as we ran to the front veranda of my house.

"I should go home, I need to see Bianca" She wiped away her tears.

"No, we need to talk." I opened the front door to let her in.

"Do you really think now is the time to talk about us?" She questioned.

"I don't want to talk about us…I want to talk about you. Now get inside" I practically demanded as she shook her head and stormed in. I followed her in only to find Casey sitting on the sofa watching tv.

"What the hell happened to you two?" He asked wide eyed.

"Have you seen Ruby?" Charlie asked him quickly.

"Not since we got home from school" He shrugged. "Why?"

"She found out something about me and her, that I kept from her and she ran away" Charlie was crying again.

"It couldn't have been that bad. She'll come back, trust me…she just needs to clear her head. We all know what Ruby is like" Casey tried to be positive.

"Why don't you make Charlie a cup of tea. I'm going to get her some dry clothes" I nodded towards the kitchen before taking Charlie to my bedroom.

"Go have a shower, I'll bring you in some clothes to wear" I looked at her sternly before she nodded and headed towards the bathroom. I got out an old hoodie and a pair of sweat pants that I knew would be miles too big for her, but they'd keep her warm. I knocked on the bathroom door before quickly opening it and dropping the clothes quickly inside before shutting it, hoping I wasn't invading her privacy. I also got dressed into some dry clothes before Charlie walked out and took the tea off Casey and we both headed into my bedroom. We sat on my bed in silence before I decided to speak. "Charlie, this rape affected you more than you even understand"

"Trust me, I understand. I lived through it!" She snapped.

"You need to talk about it! Please tell me that you told this guy you were pregnant?" I asked again.

"I told him. He didn't believe me. That's the end of that" She replied, sipping her tea.

"Charlie, if you ever said no to me, I would respect your wishes. You know that right?" I asked her seriously.

"I keep saying no to talking about this and you don't seem to be respecting my wishes now!" She placed her tea on the bedside table before laying her head on the pillow and turning away from me.

"I'm sorry…I didn't realise. God I'm an idiot!" I sighed, lying down next to her. "I don't mean to hurt you Charlie and I'm sorry for bringing all this us…I just wanted to know everything about you because I care about you" I whispered. She took my hand and wrapped it around her.

"I know" She whispered back as we snuggled together. Before I knew it Charlie was asleep; she was obviously exhausted. I walked out to find Casey in the kitchen washing up.

"Today of all days this had to happen" I looked out into the dark stormy sky.

"Brax…what's going on?" He asked confused.

"Ruby found out that Charlie is her mum" I spoke carefully, worried how Casey would react.

"You're kidding right? Charlie…is…Ruby's…mum?" He spoke slowly, trying to comprehend.

"Look I'm not going to go into detail about it cause its not my place to say but Ruby's going to need you" I patted his back.

"How could Charlie keep that from her for so long?" Casey asked still in shock.

"I guess Charlie thought it was best for Ruby" I nodded before hearing a knock at the door.

"Ruby?!" I opened it only to see the young girl standing there, drenched from head to toe.


	44. Chapter 44: An explaination

**New chapter! Thanks for all the support!**

**Enjoy xo  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 44<span>**

Brax's point of View

_"Ruby?!" I opened it only to see the young girl standing there, drenched from head to toe._

_************************************************** *********************************_

"Charlie has been looking for you everywhere!" I let her in and quickly got her a towel. I could tell she hadn't stopped crying and it was killing me.

"Don't you mean mum?" She mumbled, sitting down on the sofa. Casey walked in and gave her a hug.

"Look Ruby Charlie thought she was doing what was best for you…"

"BULLSHIT! She was doing what was best for her! She was 15 and couldn't handle her life being fucked up by a bastard of a kid! I suppose that's her own fault for sleeping around and not knowing who my father is!" Ruby stood up and confronted me.

"See if you'd stayed and actually let Charlie explain to you the whole thing you wouldn't be saying that ay!" I defended Charlie.

"Oh what ever Brax…she'd probably only tell me a pack of lies anyway. My whole life has been a lie, why not add a few more to the mix" She retorted sarcastically.

"Ruby, ya mum was assaulted! She was raped!" I spat out. Ruby looked at me in shock before going silent.

"How did you know that?!" Ruby yelled at me, walking closer.

"Because I told him" Charlie had walked out of my room, tears in her eyes as she seen Ruby standing there.

Charlie's point of view

I could hear loud voices outside the bedroom, waking me up from my much needed sleep. "Ruby?" I mumbled, hearing her familiar voice.

"Ruby, ya mum was assaulted! She was raped!" I heard Brax snap. Oh god…of course he had to let that slip.

"How did you know that?!" Ruby yelled back. I quickly opened the door and saw her standing thing, wrapped in a towel, her hair a wet mess.

"Because I told him" I revealed, making her turn around and looking at me.

"Of course your hear with him rather than out looking for me!" She shouted at me! "You know what I also love…I love that you can tell him you were rapped after sleeping with him for what 6 months, yet you've known me your whole life and you couldn't even tell me this!"

"Ruby please let me explain…"

"Do you even know who my dad is?" She yelled at me.

"Yes…your dad was my boyfriend. I loved him until he wanted to take things faster and I wasn't ready!" I explained to her calmly. "Ruby you have to understand…I was 14, I was a child and I had been raped by someone who I thought, loved me"

"Charlie, I get that I do…but I just don't get why you lied to me for so long!" Ruby burst into tears before rushing back out the door.

"Ruby!" I went to go after her before Brax stopped me.

"I'll go" Casey nodded before chasing her.

Ruby's Point of view

"RUBY!" I could hear a voice chasing me. "RUBY!" It was getting louder as a set of arms grabbed me.

"GET OFF ME!" I kicked and screamed as I could feel the raindrops drenching me yet again.

"Ruby, stop it!" Casey tried to hug me.

"Just leave me alone!" I shouted, pushing him away.

"Ruby, please come back inside!" Casey pleaded.

"I WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE!" I pulled away from his grip and bolted. This was all happening too fast, this was all too much right now!

Charlie's Point of View

"I need to go home…I need to sort all this out!" I pulled away from Brax and went to collect my wet clothes from the laundry.

"No, Charlie just stay here for now. You need to calm down" He grabbed my hand. I pulled away from him.

"Brax, now is not the time to be thinking about us…I need to go!" I snapped before storming back home. I walked in the door only to find Bianca pacing the kitchen before seeing me and rushing over.

"Did you find her?" She quickly hugged me.

"She came over to Brax's and I gave her a quick overview of what happened but then she ran off again…what am I going to do Bianca?" I burst into tears on her shoulder.

"I don't know hun, I really don't know" We sat on the sofa together in silence. I really had no idea what to do right now. I guess the only thing to do was to give her space. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember was waking up on the couch, to the voices of Bianca and Heath mumbling. "Hey, good morning! You looked like you needed the sleep so I just left you there. Go have a shower and I'll make you some coffee" Bianca smiled as I got up sluggishly.

"Thanks…Ruby didn't come home this morning did she?" I asked, hopefully.

"I'm sorry Charlie…no word from her" Bianca's smile changed. I nodded and walked into my bedroom before grabbing my things to shower and heading into the bathroom.

Brax's Point of View

Casey had been really concerned about Ruby after she ran off from him, but everyone knew she needed some space. Casey and I woke up early after our eventful night and headed down the beach to catch in a few waves before school and work and after the storm last night the waves were bound to be good. "I honestly don't know how I would cope in a situation like this." He stated as we walked down the beach.

"Yeah I really don't know what's going to happen between Charlie and Ruby and it's none of my business. I tried to help, but Charlie just wanted to push me away, so I'm out" I replied back as we headed into the surf. After about 40 minutes of so wave time we headed back in.

"Definitely needed that" Casey chuckled as he grabbed a towel and dried off his hair. I nodded back as I looked up the beach towards the weeds and bushed only to notice something in them. I walked slowly towards them. "Brax?" Casey called my name as I followed. I dropped my board as soon as I could see Ruby asleep.

"Rubes?" I sat down next to her and shook her a little. That's when I noticed the empty bottle of vodka roll out from her hand. "Oh god Ruby! Rubes…WAKE UP!" I shook her harder.

"What's wrong with her Brax?!" Casey panicked as he sat down next to her.

"I'm going to take her to the hospital…you go get Charlie and take her there!" I quickly picked up Ruby after she didn't respond. I practically threw her into the passenger side of my ute and sped to the hospital as quick as I could.

"I NEED SOME HELP HERE!" I yelled out as I carried Ruby through to emergency.

"Brax, what's going on? What's happened?" Sid rushed over, escorting me into a room, letting me place her down on the bed.

"I found her on the beach this morning, she drank a whole bottle of vodka and she won't wake up!" I tried to calm down.

"Can I get blood taken, an IV, fluids, insulin, potassium and sodium!" Sid called out to the nurses surrounding Ruby.

"Brax, do you know when she last had her insulin? Sid asked me, reminding me that Ruby was a diabetic.

"I have no idea. She went off the rails yesterday and I know she hasn't been home since yesterday afternoon" I told him everything I knew. "Casey's gone to get Charlie…do you know what's wrong?" Side took me out of the room as the nurses worked on Ruby.

"I suspect, due to the amount of alcohol she's consumed, the lack of her insulin, plus dehydration has caused her to go into a diabetic coma" Sid explained.

"Is she going to be ok but?" I asked, quickly.

"I'm not sure at this point! Just sit and I'll tell you more when we've run some more tests and when Charlie gets here" Sid explained.


	45. Chapter 45: Vulnerable Mistake

**So I'm hoping to finish writing this before I go back to tafe on monday, but we'll see! Hopefully I will have it all typed up so I can just add chapters etc. Thanks for all the comments on the last chapter! **

**Enjoy xo  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 45<strong>

Charlie's Point of View

I got out of the shower and threw on some clothes before walking out only to find Casey, Heath and Bianca looking at me concerned. "Charlie you need to come with me now!" He was manic.

"Casey, what's going on?" I asked concerned.

"It's Ruby, Brax found her on the beach this morning unconscious. She had a lot to drink so he took her to the hospital…you need to come now!" Casey was practically dragging me to the car.

"Oh god!" I hopped in the passenger seat as Casey sped off. "I don't know when the last time she had her insulin was Casey!" I panicked. "I'm her mother, I should have been making sure she was having it!"

"She had a whole bottle of vodka Charlie" Casey shook his head. We soon arrived at the hospital only to find Brax pacing the corridor before seeing me. I ran up to him and hugged him.

"What's going on?" I pulled away quickly, looking into his eyes.

"Sid reckons she's gone into a diabetic coma" He explained.

"Oh my god!" I burst into tears before sitting down.

"Ah Charlie, you're here" Sid walked out. "As Brax has already explained Ruby went into a diabetic coma, due to lack of insulin and dehydration. We've got her on fluids and she's still unconscious but we are hoping for a full recovery. I can't give you any guarantees until w do some more tests. But you are welcome to go in and see her" Sid explained.

"Thanks" Brax shook his hand before we all walked into her room.

"Oh baby" I sighed, seeing Ruby lying in the bed, tube down her throat, machines around her beeping. "Oh my god Ruby, I'm sorry" I took her hand in mine and squeezed it.

Brax's Point of View

"Charlie let me take you home" Charlie had been sitting in the hospital chair with her unconscious daughter all day.

"No, I'm going to stay here the night. I want to be here when she wakes up" Charlie nodded, not even looking at me.

"Charlie, you need to sleep, its been a long day. Just let me take you home. I'll bring you back first thing in the morning" I pleaded with her.

"Miss, I'm sorry, but we're going to have to ask you to leave. If there is any change we'll call you" one of the nurses was siding with me.

"Fine" she sighed, standing up and looking at me sadly.

"You alright to drive home?" I asked Casey who had also been with Ruby all day.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'll see you at home" Casey hugged Charlie before we both headed off. The car ride home was silent until we got to my driveway. "Well thanks" she nodded quietly.

"No problem" I replied.

"No I mean it Brax…thank for everything" She looked at me teary eyed. I quickly got out of the car and walked around to help her out.

"Come on Charlie…come inside, talk to me" I pulled her close to me. She nodded before we broke away and I led her inside. "Um, do you want a drink?" I asked as we stood in the kitchen in silence. "Water? Juice?..."

"Got anything stronger?" She asked, wiping away her tears.

"Bourbon coming right up" I chuckled, getting down 2 glasses and a bottle of alcohol. I poured both her and myself a small glass and handed it to her. She sculled the shot and slammed down the glass.

"Erg, I don't know how you can do that!" A disgusting look came across her face before she perched herself up on the bench and poured herself another.

"Eh Charlie, go easy" I warned her, taking the bottle off her after her second shot. Casey was soon home and headed straight into his bedroom without saying a word. We basked in the silence upon us before Charlie spoke.

"I've ruined everything haven't I?" She spoke.

"It'll take some time to fix it yeah, but I don't think its ruined completely" I nodded back, taking a sip from my glass.

"I should have told her instead of her finding out like that" Charlie shook her head, trying not to cry.

"She still would have reacting the same way…I don't think it's the way she found out, it's the fact that you all lied to her for so long" I nodded.

"Kind of like you and me…I suppose I reacted kind of the same way when I found out you lied about the crop" She looked at me.

"Kind of I suppose" I replied. I walked up closer to her, looking up at her gorgeous eyes. "She'll come back to you Charlie…she loves you" I said quietly. Charlie looked into my eyes and placed her hands on my cheeks.

"I've missed you Brax" She was close to tears. I leant up to wipe away her tears and before I knew it our lips were touching and we were passionately kissing, making up for lost time. Charlie wrapped her legs around my waist and deepened the kiss before stopping and pulling away. "We can't do this" She placed her forehead against mine. "Not tonight"

"Sure…but just know that I love you and I will always be here for you and for Ruby." She looked into my eyes before attaching her lips to mine. We made out for a while before I picked her up and whisked her off to my bedroom.

"I love you Brax" She mumbled between clothes getting torn off and rushed kisses. Her breath was deep and laboured as I took off her underwear and laid her down naked underneath me. She was so gorgeous and I needed her now more than ever. Her hands rushed to pull down my boxers before she wrapped her legs around me quickly, pushing her bareness to mine. I felt her sigh into our kiss, before gasping as I entered her.

"I love you too" I muttered against her lips, so happy to be in her arms again.

_The next morning_

Charlie's point of view

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing before realising where I was. "Shit!" I muttered, noting a very naked Brax spooning me. I gently took his arm off from around me before getting out of bed and grabbing my shorts to find my phone. "Hello?" I answered.

"Hi Charlie, its Nurse Julie Foster, just letting you know that Ruby is in a stable condition, she did wake up about 10 minutes ago, but has gone back to sleep" She informed me.

"Ok thank you, I'll be in right away" I quickly hung up on her and rushed around to get dressed.

"Hey…what's going on?" Brax woke up only to find me doing up my shorts.

"Ruby's awake, I'm going to the hospital" I quickly grabbed my shirt off the floor and put it on.

"I'll come, I'll drive you" He got out of bed and went to putt his boxers on.

"Brax its fine, I can drive myself…I've really got to go" I rushed out, not even wanting to talk about what happened last night. Last night was a mistake. I was vulnerable and needed cheering up and I had used Brax to get that. I was so ashamed of myself. I rushed to the hospital and into Ruby's room only to find her still sleeping. I sat done next to her and held her hand. "This is all my fault Ruby, I just wish that things could have been different" I whispered to her. Casey and Brax soon arrived, with Casey sitting on th other side of the bed taking her other hand.

"I got you coffee" Brax handed me a take away cup.

"Thanks" I couldn't even look at him. I took a sip before watching Ruby's eyes start to flicker.

"Ruby? Rubes!" I grabbed her hand. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around before laying her eyes on me.

"Get out" She mumbled.

"Ruby?" I asked confused.

"Charlie, get out! I don't want you here" She pushed her words out more forcefully. I looked at her and held her hand tighter. "MUM…GET OUT NOW!" She practically screamed. I quickly rushed out of the room before Brax followed and grabbed me.

"Come on Charlie" He hugged me and held me tight, kissing my forehead as I cried into his chest.

"She doesn't even want me here" I mumbled.

"Charlie give her time…how about when she's out of here, she can come stay at our place for a while, just until you guys sort out everything" Brax suggested.

"Look, I get you are trying to be friendly and nice to me, but I can sort this out myself. Now I have to go" I pulled away and went to run. Brax gripped my hand and pulled me back.

"I will not let you run away from me again" He looked me in the eye.

"Brax, last night was a mistake!"

"It wasn't to me…last night for me, wasn't just sex…it was us…making…love" He tried to talk about his feelings but it just turned into an awkward mess. "I love you so much, if you would just take the time to see that and stop pushing me away, this wouldn't be so hard!" He told me sternly.

"I'm sorry, but right now I need to focus on my daughter" I pulled away and walked back into the room to talk to Ruby.


	46. Chapter 46: The whole truth

**Sorry for the delay. Thanks for the responses. I really like this chapter, I hope you guy do too =)**

**Enjoy xo**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 46<span>**

_A few days later_

Charlie's Point of View

Ruby was now allowed to go home from hospital, but we still hadn't talked about anything. She had refused to talk to Casey or me for that matter. Brax and Case had organised for Ruby to stay at their place while things were still tense between us. "You all packed?" I asked, walking into the hospital room ready to take her home.

"Yep" She snapped back as she pushed passed me with her bag. We signed her discharge papers and headed to the car in silence.

"I thought it would be best if you stayed with Casey and Brax, just until things go back to normal" I broke the silence as we drove home.

"So you're kicking me out are you?" She glared at me.

"No, I just thought it'd be best for you while your adjusting to the situation"

"Just like you thought it would be best if you lied to me my whole life about the fact that you are really my mother" Ruby retorted. I stopped the car and looked at her.

"I love you Ruby and I gave up my right to be your mother when I ran away 2 weeks after you were born and that's a decision I have regretted every single day since you were born!" I shouted back as I got out of the car and stormed off to the beach. I sat on the bench at the reserve, looking out towards the waves. I watched as Ruby came and slowly sat next to me.

"This is your chance to explain…I want to know everything" Ruby told me, also looking out at the ocean.

"I suppose I'll start from the beginning…when I was 14 I started hanging out with these girls at school. They were so popular and cool and I idolised them. They went out to all the parties and wagged school and before I knew it I was rebelling against mum and dad and doing everything that they would do. They always hung around the older guys at our school and soon enough I met this guy called Grant. He was 16 and was the coolest guy and I was so surprised that he liked me. I would have done anything for him because I thought I loved him, but all I was to him was the hot chick that boosted his reputation up that little bit more. We had been going out for about 2 months when I snuck out of home and went to this party with him and all his friends. I thought I was the greatest cause I was going out with this awesome guy, smoking, drinking…I thought I was so grown up. Grant and I went up to one of the bedrooms for what I thought was a make out session. We did make out, but soon enough he had his hands all over me" I thought back to that awful night as Ruby looked at me with anticipation. "He was touching me and putting his hands up my skirt and I wasn't ready for that. I wasn't as grown up as I thought I was. He pushed me back onto the bed and pushed himself on to me. I kept trying to push him off while saying no, but it was no use. He got what he wanted and I just took it." I said softly.

"How long after that did you find out you were pregnant?" Ruby asked, apprehensively.

"Well after that Grant went on with his life but I just couldn't look at him the same way. I got really distant with my friends and I was always fighting with mum and dad. It was about 2 months after Grant…did what he did, when I noticed my boobs had gotten bigger. I just thought puberty had finally blessed me with some sort of upper body, but that was until I starting feeling nauseas every morning and didn't want to go to school. Another month went by before I realised I hadn't had my period since the night of the party. I was starting to get scared so I went to see Aunty Michelle cause I knew she would understand. She took me to the doctors and when he told me I was pregnant I just burst into tears. I was 14, I was still a kid and I was now having a kid. The doctor told me I was 12 weeks along and it was too risky to do an abortion, not that I knew what I was going to do anyway. So I just kept acting like nothing had changed until Mum started noticing the belly I had put on under the baggy shirts I was wearing to hide my newly formed bump. I soon told mum and dad about it and the first thing dad wanted to know who the father was. I didn't tell him who it was or that I was raped cause I knew he would have killed him" I sighed.

"Did you tell Grant?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah I did, but he didn't believe me. He thought I was making up stuff just to win him back" I nodded. "So I dropped out of school and stayed at home being pregnant, while mum and dad constantly reminded me of how disappointed they were in me. I was the only child of a police officer and a lawyer and I had gotten myself raped and pregnant at 14…of course they were ashamed of me" I shook my head, trying to forget that looks of my parents face when they found out about my pregnancy.

"Did you decide what you were going to do with the baby when you gave birth?" Rubes asked.

"I honestly had no idea. Mum and Dad would have loved it if I gave you up for adoption so they could forget about this whole travesty, but I didn't want to give them the satisfaction. I wanted to keep you and love you and cherish you, because I didn't want you to think you were a huge accident. I had just turned 15 when I went into labour, 3 weeks earlier with you and it was honestly the scariest day of my life. I was about to give birth to a baby, a baby I was nowhere near prepared enough for. The doctor decided it would be best it I had a cesarean because my hips hadn't fully developed and were too narrow to give birth to a baby. But soon enough you were born and as soon as I held you I knew I wouldn't let mum and dad get their hands on you. You were mine and I had that feeling that I was grown up now and I could handle this…I was completely wrong yet again but I knew I didn't want to let you go. Within a week of having you home I went into post-natal depression. I couldn't handle the crying and I couldn't bond with you the way I wanted. You bonded with mum and dad so much better and I just felt they were better equipped to handle you…so I ran away after 2 weeks, back to Aunty Michelle's. I thought about you every day I was there. I enrolled back into school, I started hanging out with the right people and I thought about you every day and how when I was ready I was going to be the best mother I could possibly be to you. So after about a year I was now 16 and a lot more mature to handle a baby and decided to move back home. As soon as I saw you I fell completely, head over heels in love with you…but you had no idea who I was. I was just a stranger as far as you were involved. Mum and Dad had become your guardians and decided that I had given up my responsibility to be your mother, so they thought it would be easier if you were told I was your big sister. It hurt so much, they took you away from me and there was nothing I could do because it was my decision to leave you in the first place" I had started to tear up. I looked over to Ruby who was also tearing up. "So I got my life back on track, decided I was going to be the best sister I could be, finished school and joined the police force…just like dad" I chuckled, wiping away my tears.

"Charlie…what happened to Grant?" Ruby asked cautiously.

"As soon as I became a cop I did a background check on him. He is now married with 2 daughters of his own…I was considering going to talk to him, but I just can't look at him after what he put me through" I replied to her. Ruby looked into her lap before looking into my eyes.

"When you look at me, do I remind you of him?"

"Oh, no sweetheart! Every time I look at you I see the gorgeous baby I gave up and how much I love you and wish I hadn't had done that!" I hugged her gently. I felt her arms wrap around me also. "I know things aren't going to be the same between us now, but I'm just glad you let me explain the whole story to you"

"I'm sorry for pushing you away…Its just…I thought…I just don't…you're my mum!" She stuttered before finally saying something and bursting into tears.

"I am and I will always be your mum and I'll always be here for you" I whispered, kissing her forehead. Despite everything that had happened between us, she was my daughter and I would do anything for her. I knew she would still need more time to adjust but I knew we would get through this.


	47. Chapter 47: Press Release

**Major apologies for the ridiculiously long wait! The past 6 months of my life have been hectic with study and I just haven't had time to add any chapters. So you'll get 3 chapters now and the Epilogue tomorrow =)**  
><strong>Thanks for sticking by this!<strong>

**Enjoy xo  
><strong>

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 47<strong>

_2 weeks later_

Charlie's Point of View

Ruby and I were on speaking terms, but she was still living with the Braxton's for the time being. I didn't expect her to call me mum and welcome me with open arms, I was just happy we were now talking. I was at work filling out paper work in my office when there was a knock at the door and Watson popped her head in. "Hayley O'Conner is here to see you" She stated.

"Um…sure, let her in" I replied confused as to why she was here.

"Sergeant Buckton" Hayley walked in and sat down with a smirk.

"Ms O'Conner…what can I help you with today?" Still utterly confused as to why she wanted to see me.

"I've come to discuss something with you; something that I think you'll be very interested to hear. I plan on taking these photos to the local press this afternoon, but of course I thought I'd give you a good warning just in case there is something you wanted to tell your colleagues before I do" She handed me a folder. I opened the folder only to find several photos of Brax and I. They looked like they had been taken out the front of Brax's house, looking over to mine. It showed me on top of Brax's lap in his car making out, and another of us getting out and walking to my front door.

"How did you get these?!" I questioned.

"I guess I was just in the right place at the right time" Hayley smirked.

"Why are you doing this Hayley?" I asked, trying to show her how upset I actually was.

"Simply because I can" She chuckled before standing up. "Now, how about I let you keep those copies so you can show your boss" She smirked as she walked out. How did I ever think I would get away with this? All the sneaking and lying and compromising! All of this was going to ruin my career and I only had myself to blame. I quickly made a appointment with the Inspector's officer for the afternoon before letting Watson know I was off to the city. The whole drive there all I could think about was how much my life was going to change in the bay and whether or not it was worth staying there. I had no idea how the small town would react to there Sergeant being mixed up with the River Boys business.

"Ah Sergeant Charlotte Buckton, your appointment was rather rushed. I assume it's urgent?" Inspector Joyner, my boss asked me as I sat down I his office in the city.

"Yes Inspector it is. Earlier today a lawyer by the name of Hayley O'Conner made me aware of these photos that she is planning on giving to the local press" I handed over the folder before he looked at the photos before looking at me. He was ashamed, just like my parents had been when they found out I was pregnant. I couldn't help but blush and bow my head.

"I can only assume these would be of you and Daryl Braxton, yes?" He stated.

"That would be correct. I would like to point out that you sent me to Summer Bay to keep an eye on the River Boys, I thought starting a relationship with Daryl Braxton would help me do that" I nodded.

"I'm disappointed in you Sergeant. Can I ask the status of the relationship with Daryl Braxton now?" He continued with the questions.

"It's over. I realise how much I have already compromised myself and I would fully understand if you wish to stand me down from my role at Yabbie Creek" I nodded.

"Despite this relationship, the crime levels in the Summer Bay area have dramatically decreased since your arrival and I can only commend you for that. You are free to make up your own mind as to what your position will be at Yabbie Creek Police Station" He nodded back. I looked at him shocked before replying.

"As much as I would love to keep my job at Yabbie Creek I feel like in such a small town, once this gets out it will tarnish my reputation and I realise I have no-one else to blame but myself. That is why I have made the decision to transfer back to the city, after taking 2 weeks annual leave starting tomorrow" I had thought this through during the car trip and it was the only logical thing to do in this situation.

"That decision is entirely up to you, I do think that is a wise choice though. I will sort out the paper work and we can go from there" Inspector Joyner replied. After the meeting and all the paper work was sorted out I drove back to the bay to reveal the news to not only Ruby, but I had to let Brax know what was going to happen. When I walked into the restaurant Brax was setting up for the night shift.

"Hey, what can I do for you?" He asked from behind the bar as I walked towards him.

"Is anyone else here?" I asked looking around.

"Just the chef, but he can't hear a thing in there" He chuckled pointing to the kitchen.

"I need to let you know that Hayley came and seen me today"

"Hayley O'Conner? What she want?" He asked confused.

"She showed me photos she had of you and I…together. She was taking them to the paper today. I'm assuming they'll be published tomorrow" I revealed to him.

"I can't fucking believe her!" Brax placed his hands through his hair before leaning back. "Why the fuck would she do that?! Does she not realise we're over! The only thing that's going to do is get me in trouble with the boys and ruin your career" Brax replied, before realising what he said.

"Yeah…I told my boss today" I said softly.

"Charlie I'm sorry" He looked at me.

"Its fine...it wasn't as bad as I thought. The only thing I have to worry about is what this town is going to say about me. But I suppose that's the risk I took when we got into this. I compromised myself and there is nothing I can do about that now" I shrugged.

"Charlie I mean it, I'm sorry" He repeated.

"Yeah, well I should go" I nodded, turning to leave.

"Yeah, I'll see ya round" He said as I walked down the stairs. Before I went home I went next door to talk to Ruby. Casey answered the door and let me in.

"Oh, Hey" Ruby stood up from the sofa and looked at me.

"Can we talk in private?" I asked. She led me into hers and Casey's bedroom before we sat on the bed.

"Tomorrow you're going to hear some things about me that probably won't be true. Someone told the paper about Brax and I and I'm sure a lot of rumours will start around the bay and I'm sorry if you get involved in any of them" I explained.

"It's ok. I know who you are and I know what's true about you and what isn't" She nodded.

"The other thing is…I'm moving back to the city. I feel that's what's best for me right now. I need to get away from this place" I revealed. Ruby went wide eyed.

"When?" She asked.

"Hopefully tomorrow so I don't have to put up with all the looks and stares from everyone in town. I put in for a transfer and I'm taking two weeks leave while I look for an apartment"

"I'll come with you" She said quickly.

"I can't let you do that Ruby! You've got a life here! You've got school and Casey and friends…I'm going to have nothing" I shook my head in dismay.

"You'll have me…Mum" Ruby looked at me with her gorgeous eyes.

"Aww Rubes" I pulled her into a hug. "I can't let you come with me. You are better off here, trust me" I chuckled, kissing her forehead.

"I can come visit when ever I want though?" Ruby asked.

"Of course…I'll make sure I get a 2 bedroom apartment." I joked around. To be honest I was scared of what would happen tomorrow, but at least I wouldn't be around to see the towns reaction.


	48. Chapter 48: Running away

**Chapter 48**

Charlie Point of View

That night I could hardly sleep. I tossed and turned, then packed for a few hours, then tossed and turned again. By the time morning came, I was almost completely packed. Bianca knocked at my door nice and earlier with a sad look upon her face. "The paper just got delivered" She passed me the rolled up newspaper. We looked at each other before both sitting on my bed and opening it, only to find the headline on the front "Corrupt City Cop and the Seaside Criminal" with the photo of Brax and I plastered, underneath.

"Oh god!" I burst into tears into Bianca's shoulder.

"Who the hell came up with that title?! How are you corrupt?!" Bianca went off. We read further into the fabricated story of the explicit relationship between Brax and I. It went further into saying that the reason why the river boys got away with everything was because I was turning a blind eye to their criminal activity, which was further from the truth!

"I didn't think the story would be that bad" I sighed, wiping away my tears.

"Honey, just ignore it! You're leaving this scumming town anyway!" Bianca hugged me. "What time you going?" She asked softly.

"Probably around lunch time" I replied.

"I'm going to miss you and so is bub!" She placed my hands on her still relatively flat stomach.

"I will be here for every appointment involving that baby" I chuckled, hugging her tighter.

"I know you will" She smiled, breaking away from the hug. "Well I should head to work! Drive safe and call me when you get there!" Bianca kissed my cheek before walking out.

"Charlie! Charlie!" Ruby soon ran into the house and into my room. She looked at my watery eyes before coming up and hugging me.

"I'm sorry about all the stuff they made up about you!" She whispered and I tried not to cry.

"Its fine…the sooner I'm out of this place, the better" I scoffed.

"I'll stand up for you Charlie, don't worry" She smiled.

"Shouldn't you be heading off to school?" I questioned.

"Yeah, but I wanted to come say goodbye first" She gave me a small smile.

"I love you so much!" I hugged her again.

"Yeah I know" She chuckled.

Brax's Point of View

I was at the restaurant for an early shift when Heath stormed in. "Have you seen the this?" Heath slammed down the newspaper on the bar in front of me.

"I was hoping to avoid it" I replied as I looked at the headline; 'Corrupt City Cop and the Seaside Criminal'. "Fuck" I muttered as I looked at the photos and read the story. "That's a load of bullshit…you know that right?" I asked my brother.

"Of course I know that, but some of the boys don't!" Heath shook his head.

"I'll sort that out when I get back. I gotta go see if Charlie is ok" I threw the paper in the bin before heading out. I soon got to Charlie's house only to find a guy sitting in a car with a wide lens camera. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" I walked up to him and knocked at the window before he quickly drove off. I walked up and knocked on the front door before letting myself in.  
>"Charlie?" I called out. She walked out of her bedroom and I could tell she'd been crying. "Charlie, don't worry about what was said in that article!" I tried to reassure her before walking up and hugging her. She pulled away from me quickly.<p>

"Just leave me alone Brax" She sniffled, walking back into her bedroom. I followed her in before noticing how all her stuff was missing and there were 2 large suitcases on the bed.

"What's going on?" I asked confused.

"I'm going back to the city today…its for the best" She nodded at me with sad eyes.

"The best for who?! You're just running away from all of this!" I yelled at her, losing my cool.

"This is what's best for me! I need to get out of this town and away from the mess I got myself into" She yelled back.

"So you're just going to leave me to clean up the mess and look after your daughter?!" I snapped back.

"See, this is why I wasn't planning on tell you because I knew you would react this way!"

"Charlie, you've got to remember you're not the only one who is effected by this! The boys want answers about all this and what am I supposed to tell them 'Well at first I was sleeping with her cause I thought it'd get the cops off our back, but then I fell in love with her'…how's that sound? You reckon that'll get me off the hook?" I answered back, walking closer to her.

"Brax, that story basically says that anyway! That you and the boys were getting away with everything when you with me…no damage to your reputation, if anything it'll make you seem like the big man, getting the copper!" She shouted as she grabbed both of her suitcases and dragged them out the front.

"Let me take them" I went to take both of them off her.

"I can handle it, its fine!" She snapped pulling them back, only to fall backwards on her arse then burst into tears.

"Charlie, I'm sorry" I knelt down and helped her up.

"Just go Brax…this will be much easier if I don't have to say goodbye to you" She wiped her hands on her thighs and grabbed the suitcases, putting them in the boot of her car. "I'll send Ruby some money each week for her living expenses and everything" She nodded; grabbing her keys outs of her pocket and closing the front door.

"What ever" I walked back to my house before watching as she got into her car and drove off. There was nothing I could do, but let her go. She had made it clear we were over, for good.


	49. Chapter 49: Surprise visit

**Chapter 49**

_2 months later_

Brax's Point of View

"Come on guys, will you two give it a break! I'm trying to eat" I commented at the affection Ruby and Casey had for each other at the breakfast table. They broke away from each other before Casey looked at me.

"You need to get laid!" He stood up and walked into his bedroom to get changed for school. It had been almost 2 months since Charlie left town and to be honest, I was lonelier than ever. Ruby looked at me with those sympathetic eyes.

"You miss her don't you?" She asked, sitting across the table from me.

"I'm fine" I got up quickly and put my empty bowl in the sink.

"Brax, you're not. I can tell you miss her! Just go visit her!" Ruby protested.

"Rubes, if she wanted to see me she would have given me her address or called me or something!" I snapped. Ruby shook her head before grabbing a notepad and a pen before writing down something and passing it to me. I read the address before looking at her.

"Trust me Brax, she'll want to see you!" She smiled before walking off. I headed off to work only to be distracted by Charlie and the fact that I knew where she lived now.

"Bro…Bro…BRAX!" A voice tore me away from my thoughts. I turned to see Heath standing next to me. "You've been staring at that bookwork for half an hour now" Heath chuckled.

"I've got to go…take care of the restaurant for the night. I've gotta go see someone" I quickly grabbed my car keys and raced off to the city. After what seemed like forever, driving. I arrived at a small, modern townhouse. Getting out of the car, all I could think about was her, whether she had moved on already or even if she wanted to see me. My thoughts kept dragging me down even more when I knocked and there was no answer. Maybe she wasn't home.

"Brax?" I heard the door open and turned to see her standing there with her phone against her ear.

Charlie's Point of View

"So we still on for 2 this afternoon?" I asked my work friend Bec through the phone as we were discussing, spending our days off, relaxing on a boat on the harbour. Bec was bringing her fiancée Travis, which meant I would kind of be the 3rd wheel, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too awkward.

"Yep, we'll meet you at the jetty!" Bec confirmed as I heard a knock at my front door.

"Hold on, someone's at the front door. Probably just a courier" I mumbled, heading down the stairs only to hear another knock. "I'm coming, I'm coming" I mumbled, reaching the door and opening it only to find a man ready to walk away. "Brax?" I asked as he turned around, staring at me. "Bec, I have to go. See you later" I hung up abruptly to my friend and looked at the beautiful man standing in front of me.

"Ah Hey…Charlie" He replied awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?" I asked a bit shocked, but truthfully happy to see him.

"I was driving through the neighbourhood and you know how it is…Ruby told me you lived round here so I thought I'd pop in and say g'day before I headed home" He nodded, obviously lying. I nodded to myself before giving him a small smile.

"Come in!" I stepped aside and let him in. "I'm really glad to see you" I nodded as we walked up the stairs and into the living room and kitchen.

"Yeah me too! You got a nice place here ay!" He commented as he looked out towards the balcony and the bay my place overlooked.

"Yeah…I mean the views nothing like Summer Bay, but it'll do" I replied back. "Can I get you a tea or a coffee or anything?" I asked him casually.

"Um…yeah coffee will be fine thanks" He smiled and followed me into the kitchen. I switched on the kettle before leaning on the bench, smiling at him.

"So how is Ruby anyway?" I asked about my daughter, hoping it would be soon that her and I could go back to a somewhat normal relationship.

"She's doing really well. Her and Casey are still joined at the hip" He chuckled. "How's the new job going?" We continued with the questions.

"Yeah, its good" I nodded before silence blanketed the room. "Brax, I'm sorry I fought with you before I left…I was stressed and upset and I shouldn't have blamed you" I said abruptly.

"Charlie, its fine. We were both in the same boat" He nodded back.

"Brax lets just stop with the small talk. Why are you really here? You weren't just driving through…I know that" I stopped him and smiled. He just smirked at me.

"I just wanted to see you, see how you were…You seeing anyone at the moment?" He continued with that smirk of his, walking closer to me.

"No" I giggled, knowing where this was going.

"Good" He quickly placed his lips on mine. We both got wrapped up in the kiss and before I knew it, Brax had picked me up and placed me on the bench.

"Kettles…boiled" I mumbled as I placed my hands on his cheeks.

"I need…something a little…. strong than coffee… actually" He mumbled back. I wrapped my arms round his neck as we continued making out.

"Maybe…we should go to…my…bedroom" I chuckled, in between kisses.

"Nup" Brax hands reached up my skirt and pulled down my underwear before undoing his jeans, pulling them down a little. I wrapped my legs around him tightly as he pushed into me.

"Oh god…someone's eager…just…oh yes…no, not in my kitchen" I moaned as Brax placed kisses on my neck, thrusting into me. He quickly picked me up while still inside me as he took me into the living room and laid me down on the floor.

"Fuck, I've missed you!" He looked into my eyes as he grasped my hips, pushing further into me.

"Oh god!" I gasped. We kept grinding and moaning together until eventually… "OH god…yes! Yes! YEEEEEEES!" I groaned in pure pleasure as we both tipped over the edge. He took a deep breath before placing his forehead against my shoulder. I could feel his soft kisses still lingering as he lifted his head and looked at me, smiling.

"I love you so fucking much Charlie!" He grabbed my cheek and placed a passionate kiss on my lips before rolling off me and collapsing beside me.

"I love you too." I whispered, completely exhausted from what had just happened. "And I have definitely missed that" I sighed, turning and looking into his sparkling eyes. He smirked and kissed me again.

"Aren't you glad I was just driving through the neighbourhood, ay" He chuckled. I couldn't help but laugh before placing my hands on my cheeks and kissing him gently.

"I'm assuming Ruby gave you my address?" I asked, breaking away.

"Yeah…to be honest, I thought you didn't want to see me, cause of the fight we had before you left" He admitted.

"I'm sorry Brax…I just wanted to get out of town before things got out of hand with the photos and I'd already discussed with my boss about transferring back to the city" I replied back, cuddling up to him.

"Yeah I understand. I had a go at Hayley about the situation, lets just say she's out of our lives for good now"

"So now there is nothing in the way of us being together?" I asked grinning.

"You got that right" He grinned back before we joined together in a kiss, only to be interrupted by Brax's phone ringing in the pocket of his jeans. He got it out and answered it quickly, putting it on loudspeaker.

"Hey, Heath said you left Angelo's earlier this morning. Are you ok?" Casey's voice echoed through the phone.

"Yeah I'm fine mate. I probably won't be home tonight though" Brax smiled at me.

"Oh ok…where are you?" Casey's voice sounded concerned.

"He's with me" I spoke up. I heard a scream that could only belong to Ruby in the background, before a rustle of the phone.

"I knew you'd go see her straight away!" Ruby squealed on the phone.

"A'right, calm down sweetheart!" Brax chuckled.

"Have you two sorted everything out?" She asked.

"We've more than sorted everything out" He smirked at me before placing an arm around me, pulling me closer to him.

"Ok too much information. Just ring us when you're planning on coming home. And have fun! I'm so happy for you two!" Ruby continued squealing before hanging up.

"Seriously, she's like our biggest fan" I laughed before looking at the time. "Shit, its 10 to 2!" I quickly got up and went looking for my underwear.

"What's going on?" Brax asked, laying there watching me.

"I had plans to go cruising around the bay with a friend…. you can come if you want?" I suggested to him. He got up and pulled his jeans up before I grabbed some things from the kitchen and we left. Walking down to the jetty with Brax holding my hand felt amazing, no one to judge us, no one that knew what we'd been through and best of all, we were together!

"This place is amazing!" Brax smiled as we walked towards the boat and to Bec and Travis waiting.

"This is it" I pointed to the small cruiser, leading Brax on board.

"Hey you!" Bec came up and hugged me. "You didn't tell me you were bringing someone" She smirked knowingly.

"I didn't know I would be" I squeezed Brax's hand.

"Brax, these are my friends Bec and Travis…Bec and Travis…this is Brax…my boyfriend" I looked at him hesitantly before I said the word boyfriend.

"Ahh so this is the famous Brax….we've heard so much about you!" Bec replied playfully.

"All good things I hope!" Brax chuckled, placing his hands around my waist.


End file.
